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> I think a dating app should never be ad supported Then it's subscription based, which has been shown to be a hard market to work in. Plus any company that g

> I think a dating app should never be ad supported Then it's subscription based, which has been shown to be a hard market to work in. Plus any company that gets paid via subscription has an incentive to keep users on the site and paying money -- which, if a dating app works, won't do. Like, if the app is effective then people will find a partner and stop using it, ending their subscription and cutting costs. > (especially the ones which have vulnerable groups like Grindr in this case) I fail to see how their privacy is different from anyone elses. Or how their kinks are any less or more destructive than others. Grindr is already banned in Iran, Turkey, and Saudi anyway

Sohcahtoa82 7y ago
What about, rather than a subscription, you pay a one-time fee?
busymom0 7y ago
Not really. All the match.com's owned apps (Tinder, OkCupid, Hinge etc) have very successful subscription models. I follow the top grossing apps for iOS and Tinder, Match, OkCupid are always on the list. It's more so that here, the Match.com people want to squeeze every dollar out of their users and are willing to compromise their privacy by supporting ads. I understand and agree with the point about subscriptions leading to an incentive to keep users on the app. But this is also true for ads supported ones. Dating apps have conflicting goals with user goals. That's why Tinder grosses so much money - because it's a mostly hookup app where quantity matters. So people keep coming back to the app and Tinder keeps making more money. I do think if the data for the vulnerable groups falls in the wrong hands, it can destroy people's lives. Imagine an international student from Iran visiting US and having a profile on Grindr. If this info somehow gets leaked back home, his life is in danger next time they visit back home. This also has higher chances of being used as blackmail material by someone else. This is one of the cases which the 2 Nigerian brothers have against Jussie Smollett's lawyers - the lawyers had made a claim that the brothers were attracted to Jussie. The brothers make the claim it's not true and that also puts their life in risk when they visit back home.

Sohcahtoa82 7y ago

What about, rather than a subscription, you pay a one-time fee?

busymom0 7y ago

Not really. All the match.com's owned apps (Tinder, OkCupid, Hinge etc) have very successful subscription models. I follow the top grossing apps for iOS and Tinder, Match, OkCupid are always on the list. It's more so that here, the Match.com people want to squeeze every dollar out of their users and are willing to compromise their privacy by supporting ads. I understand and agree with the point about subscriptions leading to an incentive to keep users on the app. But this is also true for ads supported ones. Dating apps have conflicting goals with user goals. That's why Tinder grosses so much money - because it's a mostly hookup app where quantity matters. So people keep coming back to the app and Tinder keeps making more money. I do think if the data for the vulnerable groups falls in the wrong hands, it can destroy people's lives. Imagine an international student from Iran visiting US and having a profile on Grindr. If this info somehow gets leaked back home, his life is in danger next time they visit back home. This also has higher chances of being used as blackmail material by someone else. This is one of the cases which the 2 Nigerian brothers have against Jussie Smollett's lawyers - the lawyers had made a claim that the brothers were attracted to Jussie. The brothers make the claim it's not true and that also puts their life in risk when they visit back home.