Tantan has introduced a brand new feature that matches users automatically, then starts conversations between them with blurred profile pictures.
‘Flash Chat’ matches active members based on their age, location and hobbies, and lets them send text and voice messages. They can also share picture messages before the images on their profile are revealed.
The feature is currently limited to a small number of Chinese provinces, but is set to be rolled out to the platform’s 300 million users in the near future.
Tantan’s Parent company Momo published its Q3 financial results this week and noted a 22% year-on-year increase in total revenue. It also revealed there are 4.5 million premium subscribers on Tantan.
Momo’s stock price dropped by 7% after the report was released, but has since recovered most of the lost value. The firm has a current market cap of $7.75 billion.
Tantan now wants to expand outside of China and have more of an impact in other Asian markets. Executives are aiming for 200 million Indian users by the year 2021.
Hidden photos is a technique being used by more and more dating apps, especially emerging startups, as a way to get users connecting on personality rather than selfies.
Former Chappy MD Adam Cohen-Aslatei launched his own dating app S’More at the start of the month – a service which also hides pictures to begin with. He secured $1 million in seed funding from a range of notable investors.
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