Jamie F
It’s been a busy and largely positive month for the world of dating apps, even beyond the discovery of a hook-up app aimed at matching people who love oral sex.
There’s welcome news about a new dating app for single parents, people using Tinder to fight against Vladimir Putin’s propaganda campaign, plus an app aiming to tackle con artists.
Match Group launches Stir, a dating app for single parents
The dating site and app company Match Group has launched a new dating app, Stir, aimed at single parents looking to make connections with other single parents.
The functionality of the app, created by the firm behind Tinder and OkCupid, is largely focused on time scheduling. Recognizing that many single parents struggle to make time for socializing, Stir allows you to select which days of the week and times are best for meeting up.
Stir launched on March 21, 2022: US National Single Parents’ Day. It is currently only available in the US, with wider release details not yet announced.
While the amount of potential dating app niches for all lifestyles, circumstances, sexualities and interests is limitless, launching one for single parents makes sense. With the app having so much focus on time scheduling, it should appeal to people looking for connections with those who understand that having children can play havoc with your diary.
According to Match Group (via The Independent), a survey of around 1,500 Stir members found that one in four said that coordinating schedules to plan dates was challenging, and prevented them from going on dates.
One in five of the Stir members surveyed said that after they revealed that they had children to someone they matched with, they were ghosted by them.
Tinder users send war information to Russia
In other Match Group news, Tinder users have been using the ‘original’ dating app to attempt to inform other users based in Russia about the realities of the country’s war against Ukraine.
Users based outside Russia have been using the ‘passport’ function of the app to match with people in Russia, then send them images from the war. In Russia the government has a stranglehold on the media, pushing lies about its invasion and banning many social media sites. Tinder, however, is not (yet) banned in Russia.
According to UnHerd, a Slovakian media agency launched a campaign called Special Love Operation, encouraging Tinder users to use the tactic to spread genuine information about the war in Russia.
“The Russians do not know the truth about the war in Ukraine. Putin ignores the whole world, but maybe he doesn’t ignore his own people. We found a way to bypass censorship on Tinder,” the agency said.
Blyss app aims to eliminate catfishing
A new dating app called Blyss is aiming to crack down on fake profiles and catfishing, by making facial recognition processes mandatory for its users.
Face verification is available on some dating apps, including Tinder, by which you can verify your image by taking a selfie, to prove to other users that your profile isn’t fake. This process is not mandatory on Tinder.
Blyss co-founder Stanford Maison said that the app was partly inspired by the 2022 Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler, which highlighted how dating app scams can result in misery, abuse and bankruptcy for some hoodwinked users.
Other safety features on Blyss include a ‘trusted friend’ function, which encourages you to tell a friend where you’ll be going on a date, and the ability to connect to a Blyss employee to discuss an emergency.
Blyss is conducting a pre-registration drive, with students in the Washington, DC area, before its expected wider rollout in summer 2022. Once again, there’s no word on a wider release, or outside of the US.
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