Amid the coronavirus pandemic, more Americans are spending more time online looking for love.
Dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble and Hinge registered a rise in the number of users and the time spent online last year. In total, eight of the largest dating apps in the US saw a 12.6% year-over-year increase in monthly active users in the last quarter of 2020, the largest such jump in nearly two years, according to data tracker Apptopia.
Match Group Inc., which operates five of the larger dating apps, posted big profits in its Hinge app, which emphasizes long-term relationships; Tinder, the largest dating app; and Match, the company’s namesake app.
The growing interest in dating apps is leading to more downloads and more time spent on them. In total, downloads of the eight apps rose 7.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter; By comparison, downloads in the fourth quarter of 2019 were down 8.5% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the time spent on the apps increased 13.4% in the fourth quarter, from 4.1% in the previous year.