Will metaverse spaces revolutionise online dating and shunt dating apps into internet history? Is Hinge’s new AI function going to eradicate boring prompt answers in the app? Why did a dating app you could only use on Thursdays fail? And has Bumble just announced the biggest comeback of the year?
2025 has already thrown up some big dating app news, so read on to find the answers to these questions, as you consider how muscly to make your metaverse dating avatar.
MavAvatar wants to replace dating apps
Remember when Mark Zuckerberg was more interested in touting Web3 metaverse spaces than discussing bow hunting with Joe Rogan? His vision was users’ avatars interacting in digital worlds as commonly as people use social media.
That vision hasn’t gone mainstream quite yet, but there are still those who believe that metaverse spaces will replace the current internet landscape. They include the makers of MaAvatar, a forthcoming online dating space looking to differentiate itself from ‘traditional’ dating apps.
MaAvatar, which is set to launch in beta soon, is a metaverse space in which you control an avatar, then can match with others and go on adventures with them in this digital world, traversing beaches, theme parks, islands and whatnot. The idea is that you can bond and ‘date’ when completing tasks and adventures together, in a way that’s deeper than simply messaging on an app.
The makers of MaAvata claimed that “Web2 apps are limited – they reduce connections to swipes, offer static profiles, and lack depth. Plus, you don’t own your data or identity. They’re transactional, not transformative.”
Is the answer really a metaverse space in which you’re represented by an avatar that, in all likelihood, looks nothing like the ‘real’ you? MaAvatar is touted as “your personal matchmaker in the digital world”, and promises to help you make connections through utilizing Telegram and Discord, as well as in the metaverse.
MaAvatar uses AI to facilitate matches, claiming that it “delves deep into your essence and vibe, connecting you with matches unlike any other.” Users will be given NFTs (remember those?), but the pricing system for the space when it launches fully is yet to be announced.
The graphics in previews of MaAvatar look pretty sexy and slick, with a kind of ‘Steamy-swimwear-dating-but-not-crossing-the-adult-content-line’ vibe. It’s hard to imagine a metaverse space like this become so mainstream as to help shunt dating apps out of the picture completely, but MaAvatar might well find a niche among gamers.
You can join the waitlist to find out more about the launch at the MaAvatar website.
Hinge’s AI nags you about prompts
People may frequently say they want more authenticity in their matches, but the industry is ploughing ahead with rolling out AI functions, with the latest being Hinge’s AI profile assist.
The new function, called Prompt Feedback, provides feedback on the answers you write to prompts, that other users can see. The AI’s responses include phrases such as “Great answer”, “Try a small change” and “Go a little deeper”, but the AI does not assist in actually writing the prompt answers for you.
Prompt answers can be important on Hinge for attracting attention from potential matches, but often users put short or boring answers.
Logan Ury, Hinge’s director of relationship science, said: “We’re all familiar with dating app clichés like ‘pineapple on pizza’ or being ‘overly competitive about… everything.’ While these responses are common, they often fall short in showcasing the individuality and creativity that ignite meaningful conversations.”
Ury added: “By crafting prompt responses that highlight your unique quirks and share authentic details about your personality, you can help potential matches get to know the real you.”
So, maybe AI isn’t going to simply disguise the literary incompetence of the witless on dating apps after all?
Bumble: Guess who’s back
Have we already found 2025’s comeback of the year? Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder of Bumble who left her post as CEO in January 2024, is to return to the role in March, 2025.
Lidiane Jones, the current Bumble CEO and former CEO of Slack, is stepping down for “personal reasons”, following a tough time for the app that began life in 2014 as a female-first Tinder spin-off.
In 2024, Bumble partially reversed its ‘women message first’ rule by allowing men to answer questions within matches in the app, before women initiated conversations. Bumble recently said it had 4.3 million paying users, a number that had risen, but that average revenue made from each paying user had dropped.
Apps such as Bumble and Tinder, considered part of the first wave of dating apps that became huge through the 2010s, have struggled recently, likely in part due to their original Millennial target market aging out of dating app use or settling down with partners. Bumble has been working on new AI functions as it looks to reinvigorate itself.
In a statement announcing her return, Herd said: “As I step into the role of CEO, I’m energized and fully committed to Bumble’s success, our mission of creating meaningful, equitable relationships, and our opportunity ahead. We have exciting innovation ahead for Bumble in this bold new chapter.”
Sun sets on Thursday
Remember Thursday? The dating app that you could only use on… Thursdays?
The app, a London-based startup, launched in 2021 and pushed the idea that ‘dating fatigue’ was becoming a problem, with the ubiquity of dating apps constantly pinging in your pocket. Their idea was that with Thursday you could use the app just once a week, in preparation for the weekend, and avoid getting sucked into dating app wormholes.
Sadly, it didn’t really work, despite having over two million users over its lifetime, according to co-founder Matthew McNeill Love.
He said that “with the rapidly declining consumer interest in dating apps it’s time for Thursday to focus on greener pastures and double down on what we really believe; that meeting other singles in the real world is better on every level, than meeting online.”
Love suggested that the wider dating app industry was also doomed, adding that “introducing AI is only dragging out the inevitable!”
The company is now looking at moving into event and ticket planning and organization instead of dating.
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