Month: September 2023

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Malicious Actor Responsible for CMB Outage

Coffee Meets Bagel is back online after a multi-day outage that affected the entire platform. It has explained that the outage was the work of an outside actor that maliciously deleted company data and files.

In a recent blog post the dating platform’s Co-Founder and Chief Dating Officer, Dawoon Kang, shared new details about the outage.

She said Coffee Meets Bagel “determined that the outage was the result of an outside actor who maliciously deleted company data and files. We quickly re-established a secure environment for our technology team to restore our production services and notified law enforcement about this incident”.

Some users were concerned that their passport details and other sensitive information were leaked during the incident. However Coffee Meets Bagel explained that it doesn’t store this information as third-party vendors are responsible for those areas.

In light of this incident, Kang shared that the organisation is conducting a thorough investigation and is working to further enhance its cybersecurity protections.

To help ease the concerns of users who were impacted by the outage, the platform shared its plans for compensating and supporting its singles.

If any chats were set to expire during the outage period, Coffee Meets Bagel has automatically extended them by 7 days. Furthermore, subscribers will receive a 14 day extension to their subscription period, free of charge.

Users who were active in the 14 days leading up to the outage will receive 1,000 free beans, the platform’s in-app currency.

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Schmooze Launches in India

Schmooze, the meme-based dating app, has launched in India. Backed by the same investors as Hinge and Snapchat, the platform uses humour and authenticity to help form connections.

Started by alumni from Stanford University, the platform uses AI to analyse how users interact with different memes. From there, this algorithm can predict characteristics about users, and consequently who they would be compatible with.

“We harnessed AI to extract what the language of memes says about people’s preferences to help them laugh their way to love. Schmooze isn’t just about matching; it’s about providing a space where humour becomes the bridge to forging meaningful relationships,” said Vidya Madhavan, co-founder of Schmooze.

Since its inception, the platform has overseen 3.5 million matches and 50 million meme swipes. It was previously only available in the U.S, but now expands to India. 

You can find out more about Schmooze at its website here. 

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Social Discovery Conference 2023: Full Agenda Released

We are proud to release the agenda for the upcoming Social Discovery conference, taking place on the 15th of September. The event brings together leaders in the friend-finding industry for a day of insights-sharing and discussion.

With only 3 spaces remaining, collect your tickets here!

As modern society faces an epidemic of loneliness, friend-finding has never been a more important topic. Whether its pet matchmaking, making friends through travel, or finding connections with your Zodiac sign, Social Discovery is one of the most diverse and exciting markets today.

Hosted at The Dilly (Piccadilly), speaker sessions will run all day, with free lunch and refreshments provided throughout.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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BeFake Raises $3 million in Seed Funding

BeFake is a networking app that rejects the drive towards authenticity – claiming that movement is inauthentic itself. BeFake has raised $3 million in seed funding and launched on Google Play and Apple Store in August.

In a clear response to apps like BeReal, the app operates similarly but completely differently. Users still get sent a push notification for a window of time to take both a back and front picture on their smartphone. Unlike BeReal which offers no filters and no frills, BeFake users can then use already predetermined suggestions or insert their own AI prompts to completely transform their image entirely. The result might transform them into a mythical creature, or place them on top of the grand canyon. The results are aesthetic, surreal and completely different to the real world. 

The app has been set up by Alias Technologies, which was founded in 2021 by Kristen Garcia Dumont and Tracy Lane. They previously operated in the mobile gaming space for Machine Zone. Alias technologies is a 12 person team and raised $3 million in funding at the end of last year, with investors such as Next Coast Ventures, Maveron Ventures, Peter Thiel, Joe Lonsdale and WS Investments

There is a 20 minute window everyday that is free for all users, but the app offers a subscription model that cost $2.99 per week, $9,99 a month or $9.99 for the year, that removed restrictions form people’s use of the AI image generated content. 

It takes about 30 seconds but often much less time for the AI image to be generated and users can flip between the original and Ai image back and forth. Post are then shared to a discovery feed on the app or can be posted on other social media platforms.

Social media is a place many have argued has become completely inauthentic. What we have seen is some apps completely rebel against that to tackle the problem. BeFake tackles it in another way. It leans into and embraces the inauthenticity. No one using this app is claiming to be showing them true self – but within it perhaps they are able to show their true creative personality instead. 

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Tinder Japan Launches New Brand Campaign

Tinder Japan has launched a new brand campaign that highlights the joy and journey of meeting new people. New web commercials and outdoor posters featuring local celebrities went live on the 1st of September with the new campaign.

The new campaign features recognisable faces comedian Yuriyan; businessman/talent Roland; video creator Kemio; and model Michi. 

“Japan’s younger generations are choosing Tinder to discover new possibilities for friendship, love, and community-building”, said Tinder Japan’s Country Manager Cho Kyo.

“Tinder is one of the world’s largest matching apps, and is a great way to meet people and find new ways to express yourself based on your own experiences. We want to support people in creating an environment where they can enjoy dating and love with peace of mind, and let them know that this is a platform where they can share their experiences with others”, they added

Together with the launch of the new campaign, Tinder shared insights about Gen Z in Japan:

  • According to the platform’s research, the number of people aged 18-29 who report going on a date with someone from a dating app has more than doubled over the past four years
  • In Japan, half of all Tinder users are aged between 18-25.
  • 28% of Japanese people aged 18 to 25 feel that their gender and/or sexual orientation is “less clearly fixed and more fluid”.
  • Furthermore, 72% of respondents agree that “matching apps have made it easier than ever to connect with people of diverse backgrounds and identities.”
  • The top three things that Japanese people look for in a dating partner are
    • Being open and accepting (66%)
    • Being able to trust and confide in anything (64%)
    • Being able to make you laugh (62%)
  • There is an increasing importance and value placed on self-care. In 2023, the word “self-care” increased by 233% in Tinder profiles in Japan.

You can read Tinder’s full press release about the new campaign here, and find more of the campaign’s new commercials here. 

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Stood Someone Up? That’s Against Bumble’s New Community Guidelines

Bumble has updated its Community Guidelines, adding new definitions for what it considers abuse, spam, and sexual violence. The platform now considers not showing up to an agreed IRL date as bullying / abuse.

In a new LinkedIn post, Bumble’s Safety Policy Lead Azmina Dhrodia picked out her highlights from the updated Community Guidelines, and explained the philosophy behind them.

She pointed out that under its updated Bullying & Abusive Content guidelines, it is now against the rules to “not show up to an in-person meet up despite clear plans agreed by both parties”. These guidelines also prohibit ‘doxxing’, the non-consensual sharing of personal information; and harassing someone for being a survivor of sexual abuse.

Furthermore Dhrodia shares that Bumble is taking an “industry-leading” stance on the definition of sexual assault, which includes any “unwanted physical contact or attempted physical contact that is sexual in nature”.

In regards to its Spam policies, Bumble has now clarified it won’t allow “attempts to artificially influence conversations, connections, or engagement through the use of automation or scripting”.

“I’m really proud of leading this work and ensuring that Bumble continues to be a space to make kind connections in a safe, inclusive, and respectful way”, Dhrodia shared

“The new Community Guidelines provide the most comprehensive overview of our platform policies yet. They clearly communicate to our members the content and conduct we expect of them both on and off our apps”, she added.

You can find Bumble’s updated Community Policies page here. 

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GDI London 2023: 8x Tickets Remaining & 1 Week To Go

There are just 8 tickets remaining & 1 week to go before Global Dating Insights hosts its annual European Conference in London on the 14th of September 2023. The event is an opportunity for online dating leaders to network, share insights, and socialise. 

Collect your tickets and save your seat now!

Following our incredibly successful 2022 conference in London, Global Dating Insights is excited to return to the city on Thursday, 14th of September 2023.

To view the full conference agenda, visit our Eventbrite page here.

Hosted at The Dilly hotel in London, speaker sessions will run all day, with lunch and refreshments provided throughout. The conference is followed by an evening of drinks, giving guests an informal networking opportunity to make professional connections.

The night before the conference, Wednesday, 13th of September, we are also hosting an exclusive pre-conference networking session.

Tickets are available now.

Thank you to our sponsors Stream, Social Discovery Group, irisnet, Veriff, WebPurify, Scamalytics, and Netcore Cloud.

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Anonymous Social Discovery For Farmers?

Social discovery and friend finding apps at their core are about improving people’s mental health. One of the best things you can do to improve the quality of your life, is surround yourself with supportive friends. But sometimes, getting help from someone who doesn’t know who you are, can allow you to be more open, with less at stake for your day to day life. One social discovery app for farmers has taken this exact route to help combat mental health issues in the industry.

AgTalk is a Canadian based app launched by the Do More Agriculture Foundation (DMAF) this year. This time of year can be particularly stressful for farmers when harvesting. How well crops turn out can have huge financial implications. Farmers’ days are long and their stress is high. But a lot of their long hours will be spent in machinery where they have time to talk. The AgTalk app for Canadian farmers over the age of 16, anonymously matches up farmers from across the country to share and talk, and provide support to one another. 

Megz Reynolds is the executive director of DMAF and she said recently:

“During harvest you’ve got a lot of time that you’re sitting in a piece of equipment, so you can phone a friend and have a chat, reach out to someone and make sure you’re staying connected. We’re really encouraging individuals who may be in a good place to also sign up for AgTalk to be there, to be that support person for other people in the industry who are going through things that they might have a better understanding of.”

It’s a super interesting approach and idea to social discovery. At its best social discovery reduces loneliness and provides quality human connection. Sometimes that is best when it comes from someone who you know you might never bump into again. You can offload your worries, be vulnerable, and not worry about awkwardness in the future. It’s actually quite a powerful thing. As much as long-lasting supportive friendships can improve your mental health – the power of such anonymous interactions can be super beneficial in the short term. 

AgTalk is, as said, targeted at the farming industry, and users are monitored 24/7 by mental health clinicians to ensure the app is fulfilling its purpose. It would be interesting to see if the anonymous approach to social discovery is a trend we see emerge in different sectors and for different audiences in the coming years.

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Playdate Wins London SME Award

Playdate, the UK dating app for single parents, has won the ‘Best Emerging Dating App 2023’ prize at the Greater London Enterprise Awards. The platform launched in 2021, and now has nearly 50,000 users and growing.

Hosted by SME News Magazine, the awards “recognise SMEs [at] the very beating heart of the corporate landscape in the region”, celebrating ingenuity and hard work from the various businesses featured.

Playdate was founded by single mum Nevine Coutry, who shared the award announcement on LinkedIn saying “Greater London has been my home since I moved to the UK 12 years ago and was where Playdate was conceived so it gives me a lot of pride to be given such an accolade in my neck of the woods”.

The Awards Coordinator Kaven Cooper wrote “This year’s Greater London Enterprise Awards have been a delight to host. We’ve seen an excellent number of focused, determined, and soulful businesses reaching their clients and customers with pride and precision – and I wish them all the best for the future”

To hear from Nevine about her startup journey and the exciting developments taking place at Playdate, she’ll be speaking at Global Dating Insights’ upcoming conference in London on the 14th of September.

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Tinder Brings Anti-Scam Campaign to Southeast Asia

Tinder has launched a public awareness campaign focusing on romance scam prevention. Users in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia will have access to resources that help them stay alert for potential scams online.

Tinder shared that for the first 10 days of September, users will receive an alert upon opening the app which directs them to informative resources about romance scam prevention.

In Singapore, Tinder users will be directed to the Scam Alert SG portal, which was developed by the country’s National Crime Prevention Council and police force. 

In Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, users will be directed to Tinder’s own Romance Scam prevention resource. This collection of advice shares tips such as ‘How to Spot a Scammer’, as well as highlighting the in-app safety features that are helping to fight fraud.

“Our goal is to make Tinder the safest place to meet new people online. Financial and romance scams can be highly sophisticated, and scammers are constantly working to find new ways to take advantage of others”, said Papri Dev, VP – APAC Communications at Tinder.

“We are committed to continuously work to evolve our own efforts to help prevent them. While these scams can and do occur on all online platforms, we recognise we can do more to help daters protect themselves from potential scams. Through education and information, we hope to help our users feel more confident in making new connections in more fun and safer ways,” she added.

This isn’t the first public awareness campaign rolled out on Tinder. Earlier this year, Match Group released a new safety campaign across Tinder, Hinge, Match, Plenty of Fish, and others.