(Online Dating Industry Journal) Online dating industry revenues continue to climb because of higher monthly fees, research shows, but only 5 percent of Internet users paid for online dating subscriptions in the last year. Research also shows that only one-third of Internet users who went to dating sites in the last year became paying subscribers, but a new online dating service, PrivateDateFinders.com, hopes to beat those odds with technology that allows customers to keep their dating activities a secret.
Private Date Finder is an LLC in Monarch Beach, California, founded in October of 2005. The service boasts a conversion rate close to 10 percent and claims to operate the only dating site where visitors can find partners without anyone else knowing. The Company has developed proprietary technology that they claim allows members of Private Date Finder to erase information from personal computers of all previous temporary Internet files, cookies, cache, history, and transactions.
"Our service is outperforming because we're coming out of the traditional online dating sandbox," explains Jerry Klein, CEO of PrivateDateFinders.com. “While some dating sites use targeted discounting strategies to improve their conversion rates, we take a different approach, focusing on privacy technologies. The site uses a free proprietary service called EverPrivate (patent pending). A Web-based anonymous browser and a Web-based eraser promise to erase all traces of user activity, including: cookies, cache, history, temporary Internet files and transactions without installation or downloads.”
Klein said that his site responds to needs identified from other research showing that 35 percent of people using dating sites are married or in a relationship. Many of those people were reluctant to pay for subscriptions because they feared being caught – either because they were in a relationship or because they browse on work time. The site also provides private log-ins and a "virtual" MasterCard, a Debit card issued online and replenished at retail stores.
“Research shows that 50 percent of online users will not make a purchase online because they fear that their transaction will not remain private. Cyberspace privacy issues are a concern and we’re filling a void,” says Klein.
Kim’s Comments:
Although Klein notes that the site is not going to create behavior patterns, I can’t help but predict that this site will mostly appeal to married men and women. In fact, the ODIJ's first mention of this service showed an outright appeal to married members. Yes, there will be the occasional single person who just doesn’t want anyone to know they are dating online, but online dating is so mainstream now that hardly anyone, except those who have something to hide, are too afraid to allow cookies and temp files to stay on their personal computer.
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