Jamie F
In our latest dating news roundup from the world of dating and sex apps, there’s news about some ‘next generation’ apps set to offer crypto rewards for virtual dating and having sex IRL.
There’s also a hit of controversy around an expanding Christian dating app, plus new focus on an app reportedly used by the person behind the tragic school massacre that took place in Texas recently.
Metaverse dating and masturbation rewarded with crypto
Two forthcoming apps, Datingverse and Sexn, are set to reward users with cryptocurrency for going on dates and performing acts such as masturbation or having sex.
The first, Datingverse, will essentially be a metaverse-based dating app. Users will choose an avatar and roam a virtual world, looking for dates. Going on dates will result in crypto rewards, plus users will be able to buy virtual dating areas that they can potentially rent out.
Datingverse is currently raising funds by selling non fungible tokens (NFTs), and previews of its graphics (see image above) suggest it’s a pretty well-rendered metaverse space.
Sexn, meanwhile, sounds like it will require more physical effort to earn crypto than simply strolling around a pixelated world talking to your date about podcasts and Netflix recommendations.
Described by its makers as a “web 3.0 sexual app”, Sexn monitors the user’s sex-related physical activity (heart rate, breathing rate, etc.), largely through a smartwatch, dishing out crypto and NFT rewards for masturbation and sex sessions.
A beta version of Sexn is expected to launch later in 2022. We’ll be keeping an eye on the development of both Datingverse and Sexn as they get closer to release.
Christian dating app expands (and reportedly kicks out celeb looking for same-sex matches)
A Christian dating app developed in Finland is set to expand to other European countries, and stoked controversy in recent weeks by allegedly removing the profile of a celebrity who was seeking same-sex matches on the app.
The app is called Valo – meaning “light” – and has about 130,000 users in Finland. It is set to expand into Sweden and Italy next year, with the makers saying it is designed to help you “meet people with whom you share the same values and interests”.
Suspicions have been raised that one of the “values” held by Kotisataman Deittiin, the Finnish dating service behind Valo, could be homophobia. Christian newspaper Kirkko ja Kaupunki (which translates to “City and Church”) reported that Valo “will help heterosexuals with Christian values find a life partner”.
Meanwhile Finnish celebrity Niko Saarinen, speaking on the Nikotellen podcast, said that when they tried out Valo, Saarinen was not given an option to view men’s profiles, with only women appearing in the feed.
Saarrinen re-joined the app and selected ‘female’ as the gender on their profile, resulting in the ability to browse men’s profiles. However, Saarinen claimed that soon after doing this their account was removed from the app.
Sounds like there’s a ‘Grindr for Finnish Godly folks’ niche in the dating app market.
Texas school shooting places focus on ‘Tinder for kids’
The social app Yubo, which has been described as ‘Tinder for kids’, has become a focus of public attention following reports that the 18 year-old shooter who killed 21 children at a school in Texas on May 24, 2022 allegedly used it.
99 percent of Yubo’s user base is reportedly aged 13 to 25. You can livestream on the app, which also acts as a social network platform.
The gunman who killed the children at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas reportedly met a 17 year-old girl on Yubo, then sent ominous Instagram messages to her prior to committing the massacre. The shooter’s Yubo account was reportedly the only social media account linked to him.
One of the shooter’s Yubo followers told the Daily Dot that “he would always post guns on his story”, referring to the gunman’s Yubo content.
With calls for US gun legislation change getting louder following the Texas tragedy, there are likely to also be questions raised about content moderation on Yubo, as America once more wrestles with its relationship with firearms.
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