<s>
An	O
online	B-Application
dating	I-Application
application	I-Application
is	O
an	O
online	O
dating	O
service	O
presented	O
through	O
a	O
mobile	B-Application
phone	I-Application
application	I-Application
(	O
app	O
)	O
,	O
often	O
taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
a	O
smartphone	B-Application
's	I-Application
GPS	O
location	O
capabilities	O
,	O
always	O
on-hand	O
presence	O
,	O
easy	O
access	O
to	O
digital	O
photo	O
galleries	O
and	O
mobile	O
wallets	O
to	O
enhance	O
the	O
traditional	O
nature	O
of	O
online	O
dating	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
Tinder	B-Application
dating	I-Application
app	I-Application
in	O
2012	O
led	O
to	O
a	O
growth	O
of	O
online	B-Application
dating	I-Application
applications	I-Application
,	O
by	O
both	O
new	O
providers	O
and	O
traditional	O
online	O
dating	O
services	O
that	O
expanded	O
into	O
the	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Application
dating	I-Application
apps	I-Application
are	O
now	O
mainstream	O
in	O
the	O
U.S.	O
As	O
of	O
2017	O
,	O
online	O
dating	O
is	O
the	O
number	O
one	O
method	O
by	O
which	O
new	O
couples	O
in	O
the	O
U.S.	O
meet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tinder	B-Application
was	O
the	O
application	O
that	O
led	O
the	O
surge	O
in	O
mobile	O
dating	B-Application
applications	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tinder	B-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
September	O
12	O
,	O
2012	O
by	O
founders	O
Sean	O
Rad	O
,	O
Jonathan	O
Badeen	O
,	O
Justin	O
Mateen	O
,	O
Joe	O
Munoz	O
,	O
Dinesh	O
Moorjani	O
,	O
Chris	O
Gylczynski	O
,	O
and	O
Whitney	O
Wolfe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Application
dating	I-Application
applications	I-Application
typically	O
target	O
a	O
younger	O
demographic	O
group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
explosion	O
in	O
usage	O
can	O
be	O
explained	O
by	O
the	O
increased	O
use	O
of	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
increased	O
use	O
of	O
smartphones	B-Application
by	O
those	O
65	O
and	O
older	O
has	O
also	O
driven	O
that	O
population	O
to	O
the	O
use	O
dating	B-Application
apps	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
study	O
in	O
2021	O
found	O
that	O
more	O
than	O
one-third	O
of	O
seniors	O
have	O
dated	O
in	O
the	O
past	O
5	O
years	O
,	O
and	O
roughly	O
one-third	O
of	O
those	O
dating	O
seniors	O
have	O
turned	O
to	O
dating	B-Application
apps	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
COVID-19	O
pandemic	O
,	O
Morning	O
Consult	O
found	O
that	O
more	O
Americans	O
were	O
using	O
online	B-Application
dating	I-Application
apps	I-Application
than	O
ever	O
before	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
one	O
survey	O
in	O
April	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
discovered	O
that	O
53%	O
of	O
U.S.	O
adults	O
who	O
use	O
online	B-Application
dating	I-Application
apps	I-Application
have	O
been	O
using	O
them	O
more	O
during	O
the	O
pandemic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Research	O
using	O
Hofstede	O
's	O
cultural	O
dimensions	O
theory	O
has	O
indicated	O
that	O
norms	O
about	O
online	B-Application
dating	I-Application
applications	I-Application
tend	O
to	O
differ	O
across	O
cultures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Tinder	B-Application
's	O
success	O
,	O
many	O
others	O
tried	O
creating	O
their	O
own	O
dating	B-Application
applications	I-Application
and	O
dating	O
websites	O
such	O
as	O
Match.Com	O
created	O
applications	O
for	O
convenience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ARC	O
from	O
Applause	O
,	O
a	O
research	O
group	O
on	O
app	O
economy	O
,	O
conducted	O
a	O
research	O
study	O
in	O
2016	O
on	O
how	O
1.5	O
million	O
U.S.	O
consumers	O
rated	O
97	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
dating	B-Application
apps	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
:	O
Jaumo	O
,	O
OkCupid	B-Application
,	O
happn	B-Operating_System
,	O
SCRUFF	O
by	O
Perry	O
Street	O
,	O
Moco	O
by	O
JNJ	O
Mobile	O
,	O
GROWL	O
by	O
Initech	O
,	O
Skout	O
,	O
Qeep	B-Language
by	O
Blue	O
Lion	O
mobile	O
,	O
MeetMe	O
,	O
Badoo	O
,	O
and	O
Hornet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
popular	O
applications	O
like	O
Bumble	B-Application
,	O
Grindr	B-Application
,	O
eHarmony	O
,	O
chamet	O
and	O
Match	O
scored	O
40	O
or	O
less	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
ensure	O
privacy	O
for	O
celebrities	O
,	O
Raya	B-Application
emerged	O
as	O
a	O
membership-based	O
dating	B-Application
app	I-Application
,	O
allowing	O
entrance	O
only	O
through	O
referrals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2019	O
,	O
Taimi	B-Application
,	O
which	O
started	O
out	O
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
Grindr	B-Application
launched	O
a	O
first	O
LGBTQI+	O
inclusive	O
dating	B-Application
app	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
identify	O
individuals	O
with	O
similar	O
interests	O
has	O
given	O
rise	O
to	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
popular	O
religious	O
dating	B-Application
apps	I-Application
including	O
the	O
likes	O
of	O
Muzmatch	B-Application
(	O
Muslim	O
)	O
,	O
Salams	O
(	O
Muslim	O
)	O
,	O
Upward	O
(	O
Christian	O
)	O
,	O
Christian	O
Connection	O
(	O
Christian	O
)	O
,	O
JSwipe	O
(	O
Jewish	O
)	O
and	O
JDate	O
(	O
Jewish	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VR	O
dating	B-Application
app	I-Application
Nevermet	O
is	O
the	O
VR	O
equivalent	O
of	O
Tinder	B-Application
,	O
where	O
people	O
can	O
search	O
and	O
find	O
on	O
dates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
usage	O
of	O
online	B-Application
dating	I-Application
applications	I-Application
can	O
have	O
both	O
advantages	O
and	O
disadvantages	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Narrowing	O
down	B-Operating_System
options	O
is	O
easy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
analyzing	O
a	O
significant	O
number	O
of	O
diverse	O
mobile	O
dating	B-Application
applications	I-Application
,	O
researchers	O
have	O
concluded	O
that	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
major	O
dating	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
vulnerable	O
to	O
simple	O
sniffing	O
attacks	O
,	O
which	O
could	O
reveal	O
very	O
sensitive	O
personal	O
information	O
such	O
as	O
sexual	O
orientation	O
,	O
preferences	O
,	O
e-mails	O
,	O
degree	O
of	O
interaction	O
between	O
users	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
online	O
dating	O
platforms	O
are	O
also	O
becoming	O
breeding	O
grounds	O
for	O
honeypots	O
wherein	O
attackers	O
create	O
fake	O
profiles	O
to	O
steal	O
user	O
's	O
private	O
information	O
,	O
one	O
such	O
work	O
studies	O
and	O
evaluates	O
user	O
's	O
vulnerabilities	O
of	O
disclosing	O
personally	O
identifiable	O
information	O
(	O
PII	O
)	O
in	O
Tinder	B-Application
,	O
a	O
mobile	O
dating	B-Application
app	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
issue	O
amplified	O
by	O
dating	B-Application
apps	I-Application
is	O
a	O
phenomenon	O
known	O
as	O
'	O
ghosting	O
 '	O
,	O
whereby	O
one	O
party	O
in	O
a	O
relationship	O
cuts	O
off	O
all	O
communication	O
with	O
the	O
other	O
party	O
without	O
warning	O
or	O
explanation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ghosting	O
poses	O
a	O
serious	O
problem	O
for	O
dating	B-Application
apps	I-Application
as	O
it	O
can	O
lead	O
to	O
users	O
deleting	O
the	O
apps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
reason	O
companies	O
like	O
Bumble	B-Application
and	O
Badoo	O
are	O
cracking	O
down	B-Operating_System
on	O
the	O
practice	O
with	O
new	O
features	O
that	O
make	O
it	O
easier	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
end	O
chat	O
conversations	O
more	O
politely	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dating	B-Application
apps	I-Application
and	O
online	O
dating	O
sites	O
are	O
often	O
involved	O
in	O
cases	O
concerning	O
the	O
misuse	O
of	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
Grindr	B-Application
,	O
the	O
first	O
platform	O
for	O
gay	O
dating	O
is	O
accused	O
to	O
have	O
shared	O
data	O
about	O
the	O
HIV	O
status	O
of	O
its	O
users	O
with	O
numerous	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Grindr	B-Application
recognized	O
the	O
allegations	O
but	O
claimed	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
optimize	O
its	O
platform	O
which	O
does	O
n’t	O
convince	O
the	O
LGBT	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Grindr	B-Application
defended	O
itself	O
by	O
sharing	O
the	O
data	B-Application
loss	I-Application
prevention	I-Application
of	O
the	O
company	O
and	O
reassuring	O
the	O
users	O
with	O
the	O
public	O
intervention	O
of	O
its	O
CTO	O
Scott	O
Chen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
personal	O
data	O
are	O
sold	O
by	O
dating	B-Application
apps	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
others	O
applications	O
,	O
dating	B-Application
apps	I-Application
can	O
have	O
breaches	O
:	O
hackers	O
have	O
revealed	O
security	O
issues	O
on	O
Tinder	B-Application
,	O
Coffee	B-Application
Meets	I-Application
Bagel	I-Application
or	O
Adult	O
FriendFinder	O
for	O
instance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Taimi	B-Application
introduced	O
bank-level	O
security	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
"	O
safest	O
dating	B-Application
app	I-Application
"	O
for	O
gay	O
people	O
to	O
date	O
.	O
</s>
