Match Group Invests In Noonlight To Integrate First-of-its-Kind Safety Technology Across Portfolio, Beginning With Tinder
Match Group to Join Noonlight's Board of Directors
DALLAS, Jan. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH) today announced that it has invested in and partnered with Noonlight – a first-of-its-kind safety company that provides emergency response services and personal safety products. Match Group plans to roll out Noonlight's advanced technology to U.S. users across its various brands, beginning with Tinder on January 28. This partnership is part of Match Group's ongoing commitment to invest in the latest technology to empower users to keep themselves safer on and offline.
Match Group brands will leverage Noonlight's proprietary technology and APIs to power new safety features, enabling users to access emergency services and transmit highly accurate location data within the Noonlight app, without requiring a 911 phone call or the ability to talk or text. This service makes personal emergency services easily available for a mobile-first audience. Match Group will become the first dating company to invest in an emergency response service, allowing Tinder users in the U.S. to have help sent directly to them via Noonlight.
"A safe and positive dating experience is crucial to our business," said Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg. "We've found cutting-edge technology in Noonlight that can deliver real-time emergency services – which doesn't exist on any other dating product – so that we can empower singles with tools to keep them safer and give them more confidence. Integrating this kind of technology, in addition to the other safety standards that Match Group is implementing across our brands, is a necessary step in dating innovation."
The Noonlight integration will allow users to input details of upcoming dates within a Tinder Timeline feature, including who they are meeting, where they are going and when they will meet. Users will then have the ability to trigger a response within Noonlight's app to discreetly alert emergency services if they feel their safety may be at risk or are in need of assistance. If an alarm is triggered, Noonlight's certified dispatchers will reach out to check on the user and alert emergency responders if needed, providing them with critical, contextual information from the Tinder user's Timeline.
"We're proud to partner with Match Group and start our integration with Tinder to provide an enhanced level of protection and comfort throughout the dating experience," said Noonlight Co-Founder Nick Droege. "Meeting a new person can be an anxiety-inducing event for a myriad of reasons. In working closely with Match Group brands, our goal is to make sure safety isn't one of those reasons."
Tinder will begin rolling out the Noonlight Timeline feature on Tuesday, January 28, along with Photo Verification, which will help verify a match's authenticity, "Does This Bother You?," a harassment detection prompt powered by machine learning, and a revamped in-app Tinder Safety Center.
Match will roll out Noonlight later this year as part of its new Safety Center, along with Selfie Verification and Date Check-In, a new feature which will allow users to automatically notify friends and family of their plans while on a Match date.
Other Match Group U.S. brands will be integrating Noonlight onto their platforms in the coming months.
The Noonlight partnership is part of Match Group's ongoing commitment to creating and investing in the latest technology to combat bad actors and provide users with tools to help keep them safer. Match Group currently uses a network of industry-leading automated and manual moderation and review tools, systems and processes aimed to prevent, detect and remove people who engage in inappropriate behavior on Match Group products.
This investment, alongside these additional features, have been built in conjunction with the Match Group Advisory Council (MGAC), a group of leading experts and advocates involved in the study and prevention of sexual assault, sex trafficking and similar issues. The executive team at Match Group meets with the MGAC bi-annually to evaluate policies and solicit recommendations on how to improve safety on the company's products.
"We've been impressed with the way Match Group is approaching safety across its products," said RAINN President and MGAC Member Scott Berkowitz. "They have come to us for ideas and advice on resources and the latest tech available and have been open to trying new things. The addition of Noonlight is a good step forward and a valuable component of their overall safety strategy."
About Match Group
Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH), through its portfolio companies, is a leading provider of dating products available in over 40 languages to our users all over the world. Our portfolio of brands includes Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish, Meetic, OkCupid, OurTime, Pairs, and Hinge, as well as a number of other brands, each designed to increase users' likelihood of finding a meaningful connection. Through our portfolio companies and their trusted brands, we provide tailored products to meet the varying preferences of our users.
About Noonlight
Noonlight uses advanced technology to protect and comfort people so they can live freely. Launched in 2013 as a mobile application, Noonlight has since grown into a connected safety platform — partnering with products and services to enable safety and emergency response capabilities for their customers via a proprietary API. Noonlight's technology works everywhere in the United States, allowing users to quickly get help in any situation, without requiring a 911 call or the ability to talk or text. For more information visit www.noonlight.com.
SOURCE Match Group
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