The newsroom for the people building the dating industry.
This Week in Dating Business
The Romance Scam Prevention Act Is Now Law. Dating Apps Have Until October 2027.
Match and Grindr Report Next Week. Here Is What to Watch.
States Challenge Character.AI's Sale Process Ahead of October 30 Hearing
Match Group Partners With India's Cybercrime Centre on Romance Scam Warnings
Three Plead Guilty in $9 Million Romance Fraud Case Built on Fake Dating Profiles
The DataThe Week in Dating Business: October 22 to October 28, 2026The Romance Scam Prevention Act is law, states challenge Character.AI's sale process, and Match and Grindr report Q3 results next week.
- PolicyThe Romance Scam Prevention Act Is Now Law. Dating Apps Have Until October 2027.
President Trump signed the Romance Scam Prevention Act on October 20. From October 2027, dating services must warn users who messaged an account banned for fraud, usually within 24 hours.
- PlatformsMatch and Grindr Report Next Week. Here Is What to Watch.
Match Group reports third-quarter results on November 2 and Grindr on November 5. One is guiding revenue down 2% to 3%; the other raised its 2026 revenue outlook to about $540 million.
- M&AStates Challenge Character.AI's Sale Process Ahead of October 30 Hearing
California and other states objected on October 23 to Character.AI's proposed bidding procedures in Chapter 11, asking the court to give rival bidders a fair shot against Disney's $20 million offer.
- SafetyMatch Group Partners With India's Cybercrime Centre on Romance Scam Warnings
Match Group and its Tinder, Hinge and The League brands partnered with India's I4C on a romance scam awareness campaign, announced in New Delhi on October 21.
- SafetyThree Plead Guilty in $9 Million Romance Fraud Case Built on Fake Dating Profiles
Three people pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in romance scams that took more than $9 million, mostly from older Americans, federal prosecutors in Ohio said on October 26.
The DataKorean Dating App Bleet Finds Profile Effort Counts More Than a BonusBleet, the dating app from workplace community Blind, found six photos drew about 7x the interest of one, and large Samsung and SK hynix bonuses made no significant difference.
The DataThe Week in Dating Business: October 15 to October 21, 2026Tinder now measures itself in "sparks," Tolan raises $30 million as Character.AI sells to Disney in bankruptcy, and Apple tightens App Store rules on intimate imagery.
PlatformsTinder Now Grades Itself on "Sparks," Not SwipesTinder now measures success by "sparks," matched conversations with at least six back-and-forth exchanges, and says matches are up 14% year over year, ahead of Match Group's November 2 results.
FundingTolan Raises $30 Million as Character.AI Sells Itself in BankruptcyAI companion Tolan raised $30 million led by Union Square Ventures, while Character.AI, in Chapter 11, lined up Disney as a $20 million stalking-horse bidder and saw most of its staff offered Disney jobs.
SafetyApple Tightens App Store Rules on Nonconsensual Intimate ImageryApple updated its App Review Guidelines to require apps with user content to proactively prevent and remove nonconsensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated images, and to bar bait-and-switch apps.
ProductBumble Adds Searchable Usernames Called HandlesBumble launched Handles, optional searchable @usernames that let people find a specific profile without sharing a phone number. Matching rules are unchanged.
Have a tip, a correction, or a pitch?
We're the people who write and edit this newsroom. Write to us directly, we reply within one business day.
Sources are protected. We reply personally.