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    Malaysia Blocks Grindr and Blued. It's Political Theatre, Not Real Censorship.
    Today's Lead

    Malaysia Blocks Grindr and Blued. It's Political Theatre, Not Real Censorship.

    Malaysia's communications regulator MCMC has blocked website access to Grindr and Blued, marking the most direct censorship of LGBTQ+ dating platforms in Southeast Asia this year The restrictions targ…

    ·1 min read·
    What's Moving
    Steven Bartlett Just Backed a Pre-Revenue Dating App. The Industry Should Pay Attention.

    Steven Bartlett Just Backed a Pre-Revenue Dating App. The Industry Should Pay Attention.

    Threads Wants to Own Private Conversation. Dating Apps Built Their Moat on Exactly That.

    Threads Wants to Own Private Conversation. Dating Apps Built Their Moat on Exactly That.

    Bumble Is Losing Paying Users. Calling It an AI Strategy Does Not Change That.

    Bumble Is Losing Paying Users. Calling It an AI Strategy Does Not Change That.

    Grindr Just Posted the Numbers Every Other Dating App Wishes It Had

    Grindr Just Posted the Numbers Every Other Dating App Wishes It Had

    Overheard
    "The dating industry doesn't have a product problem. It has a credibility problem. Users stopped believing the apps want them to find love — and the financials suggest they might be right."
    The DII View · This Week

    Latest Takes

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    Regulatory Monitor
    Meta Is Suing the Scammers Who Use Its Platform to Run Romance Fraud. Years Too Late, But Here We Are.

    Meta Is Suing the Scammers Who Use Its Platform to Run Romance Fraud. Years Too Late, But Here We Are.

    Meta filed three lawsuits against Brazil-based scam operations and one against a Vietnam group, plus issued cease-and-de…

    5d ago · 1 min readRead →
    Financial & Investor
    Pinterest Knows What Singles Want Before Dating Apps Do. That Is the Problem.

    Pinterest Knows What Singles Want Before Dating Apps Do. That Is the Problem.

    Pinterest searches for 'no phone summer' climbed 340% year-over-year, with 'screen free activities' up 200% The platform…

    6d ago · 1 min readRead →
    Daily News Wire
    Snapchat Is Copying Instagram Copying TikTok. Dating Brands Are Caught in the Middle.

    Snapchat Is Copying Instagram Copying TikTok. Dating Brands Are Caught in the Middle.

    Snapchat will host its first creator awards ceremony, The Snappys, on 21st March 2026—five months after Instagram's Ring…

    6d ago · 1 min readRead →
    Regulatory Monitor
    Romance Scams Extracted $1.16B in Nine Months. The Industry Owns Part of That Number.

    Romance Scams Extracted $1.16B in Nine Months. The Industry Owns Part of That Number.

    Romance fraud extracted $1.16B from US victims in the first nine months of 2025, marking a 22% year-on-year increase in …

    6d ago · 1 min readRead →
    Regulatory Monitor
    Malaysia Blocks Grindr and Blued. The Regulatory Risk GRND Investors Keep Ignoring.

    Malaysia Blocks Grindr and Blued. The Regulatory Risk GRND Investors Keep Ignoring.

    Malaysia's MCMC has blocked Grindr and Blued, affecting a market of 33 million people in the most explicit state-level b…

    6d ago · 1 min readRead →
    Daily News Wire
    TikTok and MLB Just Proved Short-Form Sports Content Has a Business Model. Dating Brands Are Still Figuring It Out.

    TikTok and MLB Just Proved Short-Form Sports Content Has a Business Model. Dating Brands Are Still Figuring It Out.

    TikTok and Major League Baseball have announced a global content partnership focused on sports highlights and game recap…

    25 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Financial & Investor
    Ashley Madison Rebrands Around Privacy. The Audacity Is Almost Admirable.

    Ashley Madison Rebrands Around Privacy. The Audacity Is Almost Admirable.

    Ashley Madison reports 57% of new 2025 sign-ups identified as single, prompting a rebrand from 'affairs destination' to …

    25 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Regulatory Monitor
    Discord Misclassified 90% of Users as Adults. Age Verification Cannot Be This Hard.

    Discord Misclassified 90% of Users as Adults. Age Verification Cannot Be This Hard.

    Discord classified 90% of users as adults using behavioural signals alone—account tenure, payment history, and participa…

    25 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Daily News Wire
    Match Group Hired a Roblox Executive to Fix Engagement. That Tells You Everything About the Problem.

    Match Group Hired a Roblox Executive to Fix Engagement. That Tells You Everything About the Problem.

    Match Group is appointing Manuel Bronstein (former Roblox CPO) and Raina Moskowitz (CEO of The Knot Worldwide) to its bo…

    25 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Regulatory Monitor
    X's DSA Appeal: A Precedent That Could Redefine Trust in Dating Apps

    X's DSA Appeal: A Precedent That Could Redefine Trust in Dating Apps

    X filed a €120M appeal against the European Commission's DSA fine for converting blue checkmarks from identity verificat…

    24 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Financial & Investor
    Gen Z Wants a Partner Who Understands Money. Dating Apps Are Not Building for That.

    Gen Z Wants a Partner Who Understands Money. Dating Apps Are Not Building for That.

    Two-thirds of Americans now view financial literacy as an attractive trait in potential partners, rising to 76% of Gen Z…

    24 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Regulatory Monitor
    Instagram Is Becoming a Reels App. Every Dating Brand That Ignored Short-Form Video Just Ran Out of Time.

    Instagram Is Becoming a Reels App. Every Dating Brand That Ignored Short-Form Video Just Ran Out of Time.

    Meta is testing an Instagram redesign that opens directly to Reels and introduces a customisable feed hub Users are shar…

    24 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →

    Daily News Wire

    All Analysis →
    Daily News Wire
    Snapchat Is Copying Instagram Copying TikTok. Dating Brands Are Caught in the Middle.

    Snapchat Is Copying Instagram Copying TikTok. Dating Brands Are Caught in the Middle.

    Snapchat will host its first creator awards ceremony, The Snappys, on 21st March 2026—five months after Instagram's Ring…

    6d ago · 1 min readRead →
    Daily News Wire
    TikTok and MLB Just Proved Short-Form Sports Content Has a Business Model. Dating Brands Are Still Figuring It Out.

    TikTok and MLB Just Proved Short-Form Sports Content Has a Business Model. Dating Brands Are Still Figuring It Out.

    TikTok and Major League Baseball have announced a global content partnership focused on sports highlights and game recap…

    25 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Daily News Wire
    Match Group Hired a Roblox Executive to Fix Engagement. That Tells You Everything About the Problem.

    Match Group Hired a Roblox Executive to Fix Engagement. That Tells You Everything About the Problem.

    Match Group is appointing Manuel Bronstein (former Roblox CPO) and Raina Moskowitz (CEO of The Knot Worldwide) to its bo…

    25 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Daily News Wire
    Nuzzl's Austin Launch: A Niche Too Narrow to Thrive?

    Nuzzl's Austin Launch: A Niche Too Narrow to Thrive?

    Nuzzl, a dog-focused dating app, launches in Austin on 21 February with a brewery event at Central Machine Works Approxi…

    17 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Daily News Wire
    FilipinaMeet's Verification Gamble: Trust Over Growth in Scam-Rife Market

    FilipinaMeet's Verification Gamble: Trust Over Growth in Scam-Rife Market

    FilipinaMeet launched 1 January 2025 with 20,000 signups in six weeks Philippines has over 110 million people with smart…

    17 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Daily News Wire
    Happn's 'Single Support' Campaign: Clever Positioning or Cynical Stunt?

    Happn's 'Single Support' Campaign: Clever Positioning or Cynical Stunt?

    Happn is offering three Dutch singles up to €1,500 towards housing costs between 14–23 February as part of its "Single S…

    13 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →

    Financial & Investor

    All Analysis →

    The Round

    Sharp takes, uncomfortable truths, and the stories your competitors are reading. Every morning before they do.

    Regulatory Monitor

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    Regulatory Monitor
    Meta Is Suing the Scammers Who Use Its Platform to Run Romance Fraud. Years Too Late, But Here We Are.

    Meta Is Suing the Scammers Who Use Its Platform to Run Romance Fraud. Years Too Late, But Here We Are.

    Meta filed three lawsuits against Brazil-based scam operations and one against a Vietnam group, plus issued cease-and-de…

    5d ago · 1 min readRead →
    Regulatory Monitor
    Romance Scams Extracted $1.16B in Nine Months. The Industry Owns Part of That Number.

    Romance Scams Extracted $1.16B in Nine Months. The Industry Owns Part of That Number.

    Romance fraud extracted $1.16B from US victims in the first nine months of 2025, marking a 22% year-on-year increase in …

    6d ago · 1 min readRead →
    Regulatory Monitor
    Malaysia Blocks Grindr and Blued. The Regulatory Risk GRND Investors Keep Ignoring.

    Malaysia Blocks Grindr and Blued. The Regulatory Risk GRND Investors Keep Ignoring.

    Malaysia's MCMC has blocked Grindr and Blued, affecting a market of 33 million people in the most explicit state-level b…

    6d ago · 1 min readRead →
    Regulatory Monitor
    Discord Misclassified 90% of Users as Adults. Age Verification Cannot Be This Hard.

    Discord Misclassified 90% of Users as Adults. Age Verification Cannot Be This Hard.

    Discord classified 90% of users as adults using behavioural signals alone—account tenure, payment history, and participa…

    25 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Regulatory Monitor
    X's DSA Appeal: A Precedent That Could Redefine Trust in Dating Apps

    X's DSA Appeal: A Precedent That Could Redefine Trust in Dating Apps

    X filed a €120M appeal against the European Commission's DSA fine for converting blue checkmarks from identity verificat…

    24 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →
    Regulatory Monitor
    Instagram Is Becoming a Reels App. Every Dating Brand That Ignored Short-Form Video Just Ran Out of Time.

    Instagram Is Becoming a Reels App. Every Dating Brand That Ignored Short-Form Video Just Ran Out of Time.

    Meta is testing an Instagram redesign that opens directly to Reels and introduces a customisable feed hub Users are shar…

    24 Feb 2026 · 1 min readRead →

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