Events

Dating app Hinge announced that it is adding a $1 million fund for in-person events and social group gatherings in New York, Los Angeles, and London.

According to CNBC, the money is to subsidize free or lower cost events to attract young people. The fund is part of their One More Hour social impact initiative which the company launched last year. Hinge says it recognizes Gen Z’s need for more tangible ways to connect than just over a dating app, and wants to create more spaces for them to get together.

The groups will focus on a range of activities that include food, nature, and reading, for example. The purpose of the groups is to highlight an interest to attract people and give them something to do while they are meeting other people, taking the pressure off.

Match Group's New COO: Hesam Hosseini

Match Group has appointed a new COO and new CEO, shaking up the executive team in hopes of a turnaround after several disappointing quarters.

Spencer Rascoff has taken over from Bernard Kim as CEO, and Hesam Hosseini was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, and will take the reins in April. The company also announced Gary Swidler will step down as President but will remain as an advisor through July.

Hosseini served as CEO of Evergreen & Emerging Brands for Match Group, one of the bright stars in recent months for the company. Some of its smaller, more niche apps under his direction have shown growth while the company’s star app Tinder has continued to decline.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Tinder has partnered with food brand Knorr to encourage users to highlight cooking skills on their Tinder profiles. A whopping 93 percent of Gen Z Tinder users find a date’s ability to cook attractive.

According to Design Rush, the new campaign encourages Tinder users to “unlock their green flag” by touting their ability to cook in profiles and hopefully sparking conversation. Knorr is also helping Tinder users get inspired by offering recipes and cooking tips on TikTok and Instagram leading up to Valentine’s Day under the campaign hashtag #UnlockYourGreenFlag.

According to the joint press release, Knorr and Tinder conducted a study of users to find that 63 percent are more likely to swipe right on someone with cooking listed as interest. And about 28 percent of singles said they won’t consider dating someone who can’t cook.

Tinder is courting some TikTok influencers, hoping they will lure Gen Z users back to the app.

Tinder paid six influencers to try out the app and post a series of videos about their experiences from September to December, ahead of the new year (which is the busiest season for dating apps). The TikTok stars posted videos about using Tinder and how things went meeting their dates in person under the hashtag #theconnectionexperience.

According to Axios, Tinder's recent brand sentiment study found that people were more willing and interested to try Tinder after watching their favorite TikTok influencers talk about using it.

The Democrats have launched a new series of ads on dating app Grindr to appeal to young LGBTQ+ daters, in hopes of turning out more votes ahead of election day on November 5th.

According to The Advocate, the targeted ads focus on the Republican party’s Project 2025, emphasizing that the document threatens LGBTQ+ rights. These ads urge people to vote against the extremist agenda. One ad says: “Project 2025 Rips Away Our Rights. Stop Republicans. Make a plan to vote at IWillVote.com.”

The Kamala Harris campaign has spent three figures on the ads, indicating the importance of the LGBTQ+ constituency to her success.

In time for National Coming Out Day on October 11th and Spirit Day on October 17, a new report was released by GLAAD in partnership with eHarmony that explores the way dating apps intersect with how the LGBTQ+ community shares their identities and sexual preferences.

The report details how non-binary, trans and LGB+ daters express (or don’t express) themselves and their preferences over dating apps, and their differences in experiences on these platforms.

Overall, Gen Z daters have been much more likely than previous generations to come out on a dating app. Sixty-six percent of Gen Z daters came out before they were 18 years old, and 93 percent came out by age 22, compared to only 40 percent and 76 percent of Millennials, respectively.