Online dating, also known as Internet dating, Virtual dating, or Mobile app dating, is a relatively recent method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the internet. An online dating service is a company that promotes and provides specific mechanisms for the practice of online dating, generally in the form of dedicated websites or software applications accessible on personal computers or mobile devices connected to the internet. A wide variety of unmoderated matchmaking services, most of which are profile-based with various communication functionalities, is offered by such companies.
A dating agency, also known as a marriage bureau, marriage agency, matrimonial bureau or matrimonial agency, is a business which provides matchmaking services to potential couples, with a view toward romance and/or marriage between them.
SBS Broadcasting Group (SBS), formerly Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems, was a European multinational media group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Northern, Western and Central and Eastern Europe. It became the second-largest broadcaster in Europe.
Eharmony is an online dating website launched in 2000. eHarmony is based in Los Angeles, California, and owned by Nucom ecommerce, a joint venture of German mass media company ProSiebenSat.1 Media and American private equity firm General Atlantic.
OkCupid is a U.S.-based, internationally operating online dating, friendship, and formerly also a social networking website and application. It features multiple-choice questions to match members. Registration is free. OKCupid is owned by Match Group, which also owns Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, and many other popular dating apps and sites.
Match is an online dating service with headquarters are in Dallas, Texas. The company has offices in Dallas, West Hollywood, San Francisco, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Beijing. Match is owned by Match Group, which owns several online dating services.
ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE is a German mass media & digital company. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Ventures. The company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
A romance scam is a confidence trick involving feigning romantic intentions towards a victim, gaining the victim's affection, and then using that goodwill to get the victim to send money to the scammer under false pretenses or to commit fraud against the victim. Fraudulent acts may involve access to the victim's money, bank accounts, credit cards, passports, e-mail accounts, or national identification numbers; or forcing the victims to commit financial fraud on their behalf.
AsianAve or Asian Avenue was a social networking service that focused on Asian Americans. The platform was shut down and the URL now redirects to its sister site, BlackPlanet.
Badoo is a dating-focused social network founded by Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev in 2006. It is headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus and London, United Kingdom, with offices in Malta, Russia and the United States. It operates in 190 countries and is available in 47 different languages, making it the world's most widely used dating network. The app is available on iOS, Android, and the web. Badoo operates on a freemium model, whereby the core services can be used without payment. As of 2022, it boasts of over 318 million users with approximately 41% being between the ages of 25 and 35 years old.
MyHeritage is an online genealogy platform with web, mobile, and software products and services, introduced by the Israeli company MyHeritage in 2003. Users of the platform can obtain their family trees, upload and browse through photos, and search through over 14 billion historical records, among other features.
The Meet Group, Inc. owns several mobile social networking services including MeetMe, hi5, LOVOO, Growlr, Skout, and Tagged. The company has offices in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dresden, and Berlin.
Plenty of Fish is a Canadian online dating service, popular primarily in Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Brazil, and the United States. It is available in nine languages. The company, which is based in Vancouver, British Columbia generates revenue through advertising and premium memberships. While it is free to use, Plenty of Fish offers premium services as part of their upgraded membership, such as allowing users to see who has "liked" a member through the service's MeetMe feature, and whether a message has been read and/or deleted.
Facial Profiler was a free Facebook app created to promote Coca-Cola Zero by the advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. The app used face recognition technology to search a database of voluntarily participating Facebook users to match people based on appearance. The software's algorithm analyzed face attributes like skin color, face structure and angles of the face. Once matched, users could contact their look-alike via their Facebook profile.
Zoosk is an online dating service available in 25 languages and in more than 80 countries. The founders of the company are Shayan Zadeh and Alex Mehr, who ran the company until December 2014. After struggles that year, Kelly Steckelberg became the company's new CEO. In July 2019, Zoosk became part of Spark Networks SE.
AnastasiaDate is an international online dating website that primarily connects men from North America with women from Eastern Europe.
Grouper was an online, invite-only social club that uses data gathered from Facebook profiles to organize group outings. Matches for the outings were gathered and analyzed first by a computer and then by a human to ensure strong matches. The excursions were planned in venues throughout 25 cities for six people. Groupers consisted of two groups of three friends and can consist of three males and three females, six males, six females, or any other possible combination.
Bumble is an online dating application. Profiles of potential matches are displayed to users, who can "swipe left" to reject a candidate or "swipe right" to indicate interest. In heterosexual matches, only female users can make the first contact with matched male users, while in same-sex matches either person can send a message first. The app is a product of Bumble Inc.
JSwipe is an online dating application targeted at Jewish singles. It was launched in April 2014, over the Passover holiday, by founder David Yarus and three co-founders under the business entity name Smooch Labs. Yarus, who was also working for Birthright Israel and Hillel at the time of JSwipe's creation, initially viewed the app as a lark before seeing the development of the Jewish dating app as combining his professional interests, passion, and expertise.
GoToGate is an online travel agency and seller of air travel based out of Uppsala, Sweden, and one of the most prominent trade names of the Swedish travel corporation Etraveli Group AB. GoToGate claims it serves 12 million customers a year across 77 countries and fills 140 Boeing 737 planes every day. Prior to the acquisition by Booking Holdings, GoToGate was used for a time as the flight provider for Booking.com for various European countries.
