Lumen was a
dating app
An online dating application, commonly known as a dating app, is an online dating service presented through a mobile phone application. These apps often take advantage of a smartphone's GPS location capabilities, always on-hand presence, and acc ...
launched in 2018 for individuals over 50, co-founded by Charly Lester. Her app attracted more than 1.5 million users in less than a year.
The app operated on a
freemium model, allowing users to join for free while generating revenue through paid "premium" features. These features included advanced search filters, enabling users to refine potential matches based on criteria such as height, children, smoking habits, political views, and zodiac signs. Additionally, premium users could access features like viewing who had marked them as a "favorite."
To address the issue of
scammer
A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibili ...
s, the platform employed
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
software and implemented a "selfie" registration system. This system required users to take a live photograph during registration, which was then compared to their uploaded profile pictures to verify authenticity.
Lumen gained attention as part of
MagicLab’s portfolio, which was acquired by
Blackstone Inc.
Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...
in a deal valuing the group at $3 billion. The app was closed down later by Blackstone in 2020.
References
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Online dating applications