JDate

A new study from the research team at Mozilla has found that dating apps are collecting and selling more information than its users might be aware of.

According to The Washington Post, Mozilla found that 80 percent of the dating apps they reviewed – which include popular apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge among others – may share the personal data of users with their advertisers. In fact, the privacy policies that users must agree with to use these platforms make it clear that their personal information could be sold. But how many are reading the fine print?

Spark Networks’ privacy policy was particularly specific and alarming for its apps JDate, Christian Mingle and Elite Singles. It stated that the apps might collect “sensitive information” including political affiliation, union memberships, and your “sexual preferences and experiences,” according to the Post.

Singles in Europe and New Zealand just got a leg up in the romance game. Jdate, ChristianMingle, and Bumble - three of the biggest names in online dating - recently announced plans to expand their services abroad.

Spark Networks, parent company of Jdate and ChristianMingle, recently extended their services, languages, and local market support throughout Europe. Jdate is now available in German and Spanish, as well as English, Hebrew, and French. ChristianMingle is now available in French, Spanish, and German in addition to English. Both platforms will roll out Polish and Russian language support in the next few months.

Spark Networks attributes the expansions to user demand and says they are part of a broader initiative to further enable the global Jewish and Christian communities to try connect, communicate and find partners in their native language.

Earlier this month Spark Networks (who recently merged with Affinitas GmbH the owners of Elite Singles) announced the global expansion of Jdate (for Jewish singles) and Christian Mingle.

As part of this expansion both of these dating services will be available in more languages. Currently Christian Mingle is available in English, French, German and Spanish. Jdate is available in English, Hebrew and French. As of this month Jdate is now available in German and Spanish as well. In the next few months both of these services will offer local support and languages for both Polish and Russian.

For more information you can read the press release. For more about the dating services you can read our Christian Mingle and Jdate reviews.

Jdates New Look

Earlier this month Jdate.com new makeover was launched along with an updated logo design. The JDate dating apps for iOS and Android also was updated to version 3.0.0 supporting a new and improved interface and features. Not to be left out, the JDate online magazine Jlife also got a face lift as well. All of these updates are designed with JDate users in mind and are focused on making the online dating experience easier, more streamlined, and engaging.

One of the main changes includes profile browsing. It has been simplified offering 5 main options for sorting members including New, Online, Distance, Match %, and LookBook. Each of these views are based on what you are seeking (called Discovery Preferences) and include attributes like gender and age range. These can be easily changed on the browsing page (or on your profile) to refine your searching.

Spark Networks and Affinitas GmbH have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in a stock-for-stock merger. The merger will bring together leading global brands like JDate, ChristianMingle, EliteSingles, and eDarling to cater to a broad spectrum of users with a presence in 26 countries, creating a more diverse and balanced footprint.

With nearly 500,000 period-ending subscribers and over $115 million in revenue for the twelve months ended March 31, 2017, the combined company would be one of the world's largest online dating providers on a pro forma basis.

The transaction has been approved by Spark's Board of Directors and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017. The combined company will be named Spark Networks SE and will be headquartered in Berlin, Germany, while maintaining a significant U.S. presence with offices in New York City and Lehi, Utah.

See All Dating Apps on Map

With the amount of media attention Tinder receives, you’d think it was the only dating app on the market - or if not the only option, at least the most popular one.

But the numbers tell a different story. Technology company Quantcast reviewed over 480,000 searches from January 6, 2017 - February 5, 2017 to discover which dating services singles in America prefer. They found that not only do different states have different preferences, preferences seem to come in clusters. And they’re not always what you’d expect.

Overall, old-school dating service PlentyOfFish won the most states with its free app. It may not have the hype of its newer, fancier competitors, but in this case slow and steady won the race. POF was especially popular in the south, southwest, and midwest.