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 DataGen Z's Crush Recession Is a Retention Crisis Apps Can't Swipe AwayMatch Group (MTCH) reported Tinder's Paying User count fell 8% year-over-year in Q4 2024 despite ongoing de-gamification efforts. Bumble (BMBL) shares sit 86% below their IPO peak; Hinge grew revenue…
PolicyA Claimed Grindr Breach Hits the Dark Web. Grindr Denies It.A cybercriminal identifying as "nilojeda" is attempting to sell an alleged database of 15 million Grindr (GRND) user records on dark web marketplaces, claiming the data includes usernames, email addre…
ProductHornet Takes Its Reality Competition Model Into TurkeyHornet's 2025 Thailand Model Search attracted over 1,000 participants and contributed to record active user levels in the market. The platform is expanding the program to Turkey and Thailand in 2026 w…
PlatformsHily Bets Against AI While 52% of Its Own Users Are Already Using It69% of Gen Z and 74% of Millennials believe AI makes dating less authentic, per Hily's August 2025 T.R.U.T.H. Report of 1,559 US daters. Despite that stated aversion, 51% of women and 50% of Gen Z hav…
PolicyDatingBuzz Denies a 670,000-Record Breach and Answers NothingThreat actors claim to be selling 670,000 DatingBuzz user records on dark web forums, including emails, passwords, chat logs, and partner preferences. DatingBuzz denies the breach, stating the alleged…
The Data75% of Pet Owners Won't Rehome. Apps Treat Pets as Decor.78% of singles with pet allergies say they would commit to regular medication to keep dating someone they like, versus 75% of pet owners who say they would end the relationship before rehoming their a…
ProductMAXION Bets an Anti-Algorithm Pivot on Dubai's Burned-Out Daters79% of dating app users report burnout according to industry data cited by MAXION, a UAE dating app targeting Dubai professionals aged 28 to 45 Fewer than 5% of women plan to continue using convention…
M&AA UK Dating App With 25,000 Users Wants a Buyer, No EconomicsUK dating platform launched in 2021 has put itself up for sale, citing 25,000 registered users, 5,000 monthly actives, and 36,000 downloads. Disclosed engagement metrics: 30% thirty-day retention and…
The DataThree Niche Apps Launch as Match Stalls. The Unbundling Is Real.Match Group (MTCH) reported flat year-on-year revenue growth in Q4 2024; Bumble (BMBL) has fallen from $76 at IPO to under $8 per share. Three niche apps launched in April 2025: Howdy for rural single…
The DataGen Z's Political Filters Are Pricing Out a GenerationOnly 14% of UK Gen Z adults (18-24) would date someone with different political views, half the rate of over-65s (28%) and less than half that of Boomers aged 55-64 (33%). Gen Z women show the steepes…
PlatformsBreeze Proves Per-Date Pricing Works, Then Hits What Code Can't FixBreeze charges £9.50 per date booking rather than a monthly subscription, aligning platform revenue with user outcomes. The Dutch app claims 752,000 global dates scheduled since its 2020 launch and ho…
The DataGrindr Says Users Want Authenticity. Its Marketing Budget Disagrees.83% of UK Grindr (GRND) users say they prefer profile photos showing personality over heavily filtered gym selfies, according to a company-commissioned survey released alongside Pride 2026. Grindr sim…
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