Finances

Match Group, the parent company of popular platforms like Tinder and Hinge, recently released its financial results for the third quarter of 2025. While some numbers point to industry challenges, there are signs of innovation that could actually improve how you date online.

This report offers insight into what’s going on behind the scenes and how it might shape your journey toward connection — from new product features to the company’s overall direction.

The majority shareholders of Grindr, board members George Raymond Zage III and James Lu, have submitted a proposal to acquire the company for about $3.46 billion, or roughly $18 per share. The offer represents a 51% premium over the closing price on October 10 according to a report Reuters report.

The deal would give Zage and Lu, together holding over 60% of the company, full control and remove Grindr from the scrutiny of public markets. The proposal gains momentum after filings showed they secured strong expressions of interest for financing and equity contributions. A special committee of independent directors has been formed to review the bid.

Grindr could soon disappear from Wall Street’s spotlight. The LGBTQ dating app’s two largest shareholders—billionaires George Raymond Zage III and James Lu—have raised $1 billion in financing to explore taking the company private in a deal that would value it at around $3 billion. According to a recent Forbes Asia report, the proposal aims to buy back remaining shares at a minimum of $15 each.

The funding, revealed in an October 14 regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), represents a preliminary and conditional step toward a full buyout. While the filing didn’t name the lender, reports from Semafor indicate that New York–based Fortress Investment Group may be backing the deal.

“Young people aren’t disinterested—they’re priced out.” That’s George Arison’s CEO of Grindr's bold argument. In a recent interview, he pushed back against the narrative that Gen Z is losing faith in dating. Instead, he says, it’s the overly monetized business models of many apps that are driving users away.

Arison points out that some dating apps charge for virtually everything—messaging, matching, visibility—making the free versions almost unusable. He claims Grindr has intentionally kept its free product “extremely robust” so that users don’t feel compelled to pay just to participate.

Have you ever stopped to think about how much we actually spend on dating apps? From boosting a profile to subscribing for unlimited swipes, the money adds up quickly. In fact, according to Busines of Apps, global dating app revenues surpassed $6 billion in 2024—with North America responsible for about 50% of that total. By 2030 this total is expected to rise to $8.7 billon.

That $6 billion milestone highlights just how deeply dating apps have become woven into modern life. Analysts note that North America alone accounted for more than $3 billion, making it the single largest driver of global app revenue. Asia-Pacific followed with steady growth, fueled by rising smartphone adoption and shifting cultural openness toward online dating. Europe trailed slightly, contributing just under 20% of total revenues.

Dating app Hinge is taking payment processing for its app into its own hands, and out of the control of the App Store.

Hinge CEO Justin McLeod was recently interviewed on the Decoder podcast and said the company would like to introduce the new payment system by the end of the year.

This is big news for dating apps, and for developers in general who have litigated to bypass the monopoly-like hold Apple and Google have on their payment platforms. To make their apps available on the iOS App Store for users to download, Hinge has had to agree to giving a percentage of every purchase made by its users to Apple.