In brief: Tinder parent company Match Group as part of its latest earnings report said it would be adding a one-on-one live video service to the dating app by the end of Q2. Honestly, it's a bit surprising that Tinder isn't already a market leader in this category.
Like many others, Match Group has seen several aspects of its business change over the past few months. There have been fewer new members signing up and those that do use its services are exhibiting a lower propensity to pay.
On a more positive note, the company said users are showing more willingness to make virtual connections with increased acceptance of video chat for dating.
On that front, Match Group said its product and engineering teams have worked quickly to deploy video chat capabilities on many of the platforms it operates. They also fast-tracked the launch of a one-to-many live streaming video service on Plenty of Fish (another of Match Group's dating services), allowing users to connect and form virtual communities amid the depths of the pandemic.
Match Group said adoption rates for the PoF livestreaming service have thus far exceeded their expectations.
Rivals like Bumble have had video capabilities for over a year now and Facebook recently said it was planning to add video to its dating service in the near future.
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