Hayley Birkin

Ofcom will brief dating operators on Online Safety Act duties on 6 February; fines reach up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue.

Ofcom's trial found a gamified dating app simulator improved scam detection versus static warnings, with effects lasting at least four weeks after one session.

Garbo, the nonprofit background check service on Tinder and other Match Group apps, has shut down after its partnership with Match ended.

18 of 24 popular dating apps scored D or F for data protection in a Business Digital Index audit. Only Bumble and EliteSingles got B grades.

Match Group will pay $14 million to settle FTC allegations it used alerts from suspected fake accounts to drive subscriptions.

Tea disabled messaging after researchers found 1.1 million private messages exposed, its second breach in under a week after 72,000 leaked images.

Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, Grindr and Feeld will require UK users to verify age by selfie video or government ID from 25 July 2025, per Ofcom guidance.

Zimperium says over 250 fake dating apps stole intimate photos and data from Android and iOS users, mainly in South Korea, to extort victims.

Northwestern Medicine study: nearly one in four American teens aged 16-17 used dating apps in six months, three to four times prior estimates.

Greed Dating says its facial verification costs £0.80 per thousand users, a self-reported figure that challenges big platforms' cost objections.

Coffee Meets Bagel now mandates Singpass verification in Singapore, and says 70% of users there have completed it.

India's Supreme Court has granted Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal interim protection in a criminal case over alleged fraud through its Select Shaadi tier.

Grindr has begun requiring all UK users to verify age by facial biometrics or government ID before Online Safety Act enforcement on 25 July.

Tinder has made Face Check video selfie verification mandatory for new users in California, the first compulsory check from a major dating app.

Dutch court upholds €50 million in fines against Apple for forcing dating apps onto its in-app payment system. Apple will appeal.

TikTok's 'dating for dinner' trend, where users take dates for free meals, could erode subscriber trust in dating apps.

Fewer than 1,000 users have signed up to Browser Dating, an art project that matches people on their last 5,000 visited websites.

Ashley Madison has launched Discreet View Mode, blurring profiles by default and free to all members, unlike premium-gated rivals.

A study of 1,044 US adults links heavy dating app use to more depression and anxiety, raising the risk of social media-style regulation for operators.

ACCC sues eHarmony in federal court over alleged hidden auto-renewal terms in 2021 and 2022 free trials, with some users pursued by debt collectors.