The march of AI into the heart of the dating app world continues apace. A new Japanese dating app eschews humans to allow you to ‘date’ AI characters, while Bumble is attempting to crack down further on fake, AI-generated profiles.
Elsewhere, there’s a new dating app safety code being introduced in Australia, although there is scepticism about how effective it might prove at lowering crime and harassment linked to apps. Meanwhile, The Sims is getting its own dating app (for the characters to use, not you).
Japanese dating app pairs you with AI characters
A Japanese dating app that allows you to ‘date’ AI characters has started to make waves, after being linked to Japan’s singles problems.
The app, Loverse, was launched in 2023 by Samansa Co.: a company named after Scarlett Johansson’s AI virtual assistant character in the 2013 Spike Jonze film Her (trailer below).
The app has over 5,000 users: a small amount by dating app standards in most countries. However, it has garnered attention as Japanese authorities struggle to encourage citizens to pair up and, ideally, have children and counterbalance the ageing population.
In Japan around two thirds of men in their 20s don’t have a partner. Tokyo city authorities recently released its own dating app, reportedly to try and address population issues such as this.
You use Loverse like a dating app, then can forge a relationship with AI characters within it, kind of like a mix between Tinder and AI companion app Replika. Earlier in 2024 Samansa Co., a startup company, raised 30 million yen ($255,000) to further develop the app, aiming to add more LGBTQ+ options.
Goki Kusunoki, the app’s founder, said: “The goal is to create opportunities for people to find true love when you can’t find it in the real world. But if you can fall in love with someone real, that’s much better.”
One Loverse user has said that he has essentially ‘married’ his AI match in the app. Others have gone in less deep.
One former Loverse user suggested that the app could be useful to help people learn about human relationships. They said: “You can see how it could provide a kind of rehabilitation if you’ve been burned before – a place where you can practise talking with other people.”
Grindr bucks OG dating app downward trend
Much has been made of the decline in fortunes of ‘traditional’ dating apps recently, and the data bears it out – Tinder’s download figures fell by up to 12 percent in the second quarter of 2024.
However, investment bank and financial services company Morgan Stanley has highlighted how not all dating apps from the ‘original’ wave of entrant are moving in the wrong direction. Nathan Feather and Brian Nowak, analysts for the bank, released a research note mentioning how Grindr and Hinge, launched in 2009 and 2013 respectively, are bucking the trend.
They noted that Hinge, owned by Match Group, which also owns Tinder, has seen user download figures jump by 14 percent year-on year recently. It’s been speculated that the traditional user base of dating apps, millennials, are now looking for longer-term relationships rather than hook-ups, with Hinge being geared towards the former and Tinder arguably historically geared towards the latter.
The analysists noted that while Grindr’s user figures haven’t leaped hugely, the company’s stock price has risen by 120 percent in a year, with the company recently outlining new growth plans. It was recently revealed that Grindr is working on an ‘AI wingman’ feature to help you plan dates and come up with zinging replies to messages on the app.
The Morgan Stanley analysists wrote: “Grindr is a few years older than Tinder or Bumble and we think the recent rejuvenation of the brand demonstrates innovation is still very possible while balancing free user features and monetization.”
So there you go: Grindr is the dating app that will outlast them all (possibly).
Bumble adds AI profile reporting function
Bumble has taken a small step that could prove to be significant in stemming the tide of deceptive AI use in dating apps, from misleading AI photos to full-on scams.
The app has introduced a new option to report alleged fake Bumble profiles for “using AI-generated photos or videos”.
Many dating apps are plagued with fake profiles and bot accounts, often using AI-generated images, profile blurbs and messages, that can potentially be linked to scam and fraud activity. A Bumble user survey found that 71 percent of the app’s Gen Z and Millennial users, who responded to the survey, said they wanted to see limits on AI-generated content in dating apps.
So, the next time you fire up Bumble and see a profile picture of someone who looks a little too perfect, plus has terrible grammar and writes in a way no human being possible could, you know what to do.
New dating app safety code for Australia
A new dating app safety code of practise is set to be introduced in Australia by October, following the country’s federal government putting pressure on app companies to improve safety following rises in incidents of sexual violence linked to dating apps.
The code will be voluntary, but Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, Grindr, RSVP and eHarmony are among those to have signed up to it.
The code will encourage app companies to share data with law enforcement following cases of alleged criminal activity or serious misconduct linked to dating app use. App companies that make multiple apps would also be required to ban users who violate safety policies from all the dating app a company runs, not just the app they committed the violations on.
New safety ratings for dating apps are set to be introduced as part of the code, determined by an independent oversight body featuring tech and legal experts. App companies will also be encouraged to fully implement rigid profile verification and functions to report abuse or harassment within apps.
Many dating app companies already implement measures such as these, so although the safety code is something of a first, there has been scepticism about whether it can usher in significant improvements to dating safety.
Wirting in The Guardian, Dr Lisa Portolan, academic at the University of Technology Sydney and the author of the book Love, Intimacy and Online Dating: How a Global Pandemic Redefined Intimacy, said: “The code is a commendable initiative. It represents a positive step towards addressing the growing concerns about abuse and harassment.”
Dr Portolan added that the code’s “voluntary nature and the lack of enforceable measures may limit its effectiveness and may lead users to think they’ve been robbed of a more robust response. To truly safeguard users, a combination of industry self-regulation and potential legislative action may be necessary.”
Woohoo! The Sims gets a dating app
Sex and dating has been part of The Sims gaming world for years, albeit with sex acts euphamistically portrayed by characters disappearing beneath bedsheets and exclaiming, “Woohoo!”.
Now, the Sims 4 is getting an in-game dating app, as part of an expansion pack wholly dedicated to dating. The Lovestruck expansion pack is set to come out on July 25, 2024 and will feature a dating app Sims characters can use in the game, called Cupid’s Corner.
Read our full news story about the expansion pack for the details.
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