Dating apps move to friend zone in search of profits

Sensor Tower said Bumble's dating app had shed 8% of its monthly active users between the start of October last year and this year – the figure now standing at 21 million. Tinder, by far the biggest dating app with around 53 million monthly active users, saw a 16% slump in the same period. — Reuters

LISBON: Burnt-out love-seekers are shunning dating apps in their millions, but the apps are trying to woo them back with a counter offer: If you don’t want a lover, perhaps you just need a friend?

The giants of the industry – Bumble and Match, which owns Tinder – have both created apps catering to friendly meetups, joining countless smaller platforms that have already entered the friend zone.