Who owns which dating app? The 2026 ownership map

Which company owns Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, eharmony, Zoosk, happn and EliteSingles in 2026, and how ownership changed after Spark Networks and the Bumble deal.

Companies in this article
  • Match Group
  • Bumble
  • Tinder
  • Hinge
  • Parship
  • Grindr
  • Spark Networks
  • happn
Bill AlenaFounder and CEO, High Intent Media
On this page · 6 sections
  1. The ownership map
  2. Match Group: the biggest portfolio
  3. Bumble Inc and the Ithaca deal
  4. ParshipMeet, Grindr and Hello Group
  5. Spark Networks’ brands: a new set of owners
  6. What it means for dating app operators
In shortMost big dating apps belong to a handful of groups. Match Group owns Tinder, Hinge and over a dozen other brands. Bumble Inc owns Bumble and Badoo and agreed in October 2026 to be taken private by Ithaca Holdings. ParshipMeet runs eharmony and MeetMe, Hello Group owns happn, and Black Cap now runs Zoosk and Christian Mingle.

A small number of companies own most of the dating apps people have heard of. Match Group alone runs Tinder, Hinge and more than a dozen other brands [1]. Bumble Inc owns Bumble and Badoo, and in October 2026 agreed to be taken private [3]. Beyond those two, ownership has shifted fast: Spark Networks' brands have new operators after its insolvency [11], happn now belongs to Hello Group [7], and EliteSingles closed and came back under a new owner within months [12][13].

This map lists who owns what as of 16 October 2026, using company filings and the companies' own pages wherever possible.

The ownership map

OwnerMain apps and brandsStatusWhat changed recently
Match GroupTinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, Pairs, Azar, BLK, Chispa, The League, Upward, Salams, HERPublic, files results with the SECSmaller brands grouped as "Everyone Everywhere"
Bumble IncBumble, Badoo, BFFPublic, agreed to go privateIthaca Holdings deal agreed 13 October 2026
Grindr IncGrindrPublic, files results with the SECGrowing revenue and payers in 2026
ParshipMeet Groupeharmony, Parship, ElitePartner, MeetMe, LOVOO, Tagged, SkoutOwned by ProSiebenSat.1 (sole owner since 2025)Formed in 2020
Hello GroupMomo, Tantan, happn, Soulchill, HertzPublic, publishes quarterly resultsBought happn in 2025
Black Cap HoldingsZoosk, JDate, JSwipe, Christian Mingle, LDS DatingPrivateNow runs brands Spark Networks operated
SuccessfulMatchEliteSinglesPrivateRelaunched EliteSingles in September 2026

Source: company filings and pages [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][13].

Match Group: the biggest portfolio

Match Group reports Tinder and Hinge as their own segments and groups everything else under a segment it now calls E&E, short for "Everyone Everywhere" [1]. Its second quarter 2026 letter names Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, Pairs, Azar, BLK, Chispa, The League, Upward, Salams and HER as E&E brands, alongside "other smaller brands" [1].

The structure matters because Match runs these brands on shared group services. The letter says E&E brands benefit from "shared Match Group capabilities", including trust and safety, recommendation algorithms and centralised marketing [1]. That is the model other groups are now trying to copy: many brands, one platform underneath.

Bumble Inc and the Ithaca deal

Bumble Inc operates Bumble (dating), Badoo and BFF, its friendship app [2]. Its second quarter results said two smaller apps, Fruitz and Official, were being discontinued [2].

On 13 October 2026 Bumble agreed to be acquired by Ithaca Holdings for $6.05 a share in cash, valuing it at about $1.3 billion, a premium of about 138% to the share price before the announcement [3]. After the deal closes, Ithaca's co-chief executives Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman will lead Bumble, with founder Whitney Wolfe Herd staying involved, and Bumble will operate as a private company [3].

ParshipMeet, Grindr and Hello Group

ParshipMeet Group was created in September 2020 when Parship Group, the parent of eharmony, bought The Meet Group [5]. It brings together relationship brands (eharmony, Parship, ElitePartner) and social and live video apps (MeetMe, LOVOO, Tagged and Skout), and was set up by ProSiebenSat.1 and General Atlantic [5]. In March 2025 ProSiebenSat.1 agreed to buy General Atlantic's minority stake, making it the sole owner [14]. In October 2026 The Meet Group sold GROWLr to Perry Street Software, owner of SCRUFF and Jack'd [15].

Grindr Inc runs one main app, Grindr, and its second quarter 2026 letter mentions no other dating brands [4]. Hello Group, based in Beijing, owns Momo and Tantan and describes adding apps "such as Hertz, Soulchill, and Happn" through acquisitions and incubation [6]. The happn deal was announced on 19 September 2025, with happn's chief executive pointing to expansion in Asia [7].

Spark Networks' brands: a new set of owners

Spark Networks once ran Zoosk, EliteSingles, SilverSingles, Christian Mingle, JDate and JSwipe [11]. Its operating company, Spark Networks Services GmbH, was placed under preliminary insolvency administration by a Berlin court on 16 January 2026 [11].

What followed split the portfolio:

  • EliteSingles closed on 30 April 2026. Members were emailed two days before, and accounts, matches and conversations were deleted [12].
  • EliteSingles relaunched in September 2026 under SuccessfulMatch, with a new member database, so old accounts did not carry over [13].
  • Zoosk, JDate, JSwipe and Christian Mingle now sit with Black Cap Holdings LLC. Black Cap describes itself as powering "religious affinity dating" and lists JDate, JSwipe, Christian Mingle, Zoosk and LDS Dating as its brands [8]. Zoosk's App Store listing carries a Black Cap Holdings copyright line [10], and Christian Mingle's help centre says it "is part of Black Cap" [9].

Questions

Who owns Tinder and Hinge?

Both belong to Match Group, which also owns Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, Pairs, Azar, The League and several smaller brands.

Who owns Bumble?

Bumble Inc owns Bumble and Badoo. On 13 October 2026 it agreed to be taken private by Ithaca Holdings for $6.05 a share in cash, about $1.3 billion in total.

Who owns Zoosk and Christian Mingle now?

Black Cap Holdings LLC. Its help pages list JDate, JSwipe, Christian Mingle, Zoosk and LDS Dating in its portfolio.

Who owns eharmony?

eharmony is part of ParshipMeet Group, which was formed in 2020 when eharmony's parent bought The Meet Group. ParshipMeet was set up by ProSiebenSat.1 and General Atlantic, and ProSiebenSat.1 became sole owner after agreeing in March 2025 to buy General Atlantic's stake.

Who owns happn?

Hello Group, the Beijing company behind Momo and Tantan. The deal was announced in September 2025.

What it means for dating app operators

  1. Scale is consolidating around shared platforms.

    Match's group-wide services for its smaller brands show where the economics are heading: one technology stack, many brands [1].

  2. Ownership changes put members at risk.

    The EliteSingles closure and relaunch shows what happens when an operator fails: members lost their accounts and history [12][13]. Data portability and run-off terms deserve a place in any platform contract.

  3. New owners inherit old technology.

    Groups that buy brands out of insolvency, like Black Cap, take on platforms that previous teams built and ran. Their first job is usually to keep the apps running and stable.

  4. Private ownership will make data scarcer.

    Once the Ithaca deal closes, Bumble will stop publishing public results as a listed company [3], leaving fewer public benchmarks for the industry.

We update this map when ownership changes. If you spot something out of date, tell us through the contact page.

Bill Alena

Founder and CEO, High Intent Media

Bill Alena has worked in online dating for about 25 years, as an operator and as an investor. He was chief revenue officer at myYearbook, where revenue passed $100 million, and ran monetisation at The Meet Group through four acquisitions. At Social Discovery Group he was chief investment and growth officer, responsible for revenue growth, mergers and acquisitions and a dating-focused venture fund. He founded High Intent Media, the company behind Dating API, and writes a weekly editorial on the business of dating.

Drafted with AI tools from the sources listed and checked by a person before publishing. How we research. Spotted an error? Tell us.

Sources

  1. Match Group Q2 2026 shareholder letterMatch Group (SEC filing), 4 August 2026
  2. Bumble Inc. second quarter 2026 resultsBumble Inc (SEC filing), 5 August 2026
  3. Bumble to be acquired by Ithaca HoldingsBumble Inc (SEC filing), 13 October 2026
  4. Grindr Q2 2026 shareholder letterGrindr Inc (SEC filing), 6 August 2026
  5. The Meet Group announces closing of acquisition by eharmony parent company Parship GroupThe Meet Group, 4 September 2020
  6. Hello Group announces unaudited financial results for the second quarter of 2026Hello Group via PR Newswire, 3 September 2026
  7. happn acquired by Hello Group as CEO calls for industry reinventionGlobal Dating Insights, 19 September 2025
  8. About Black CapJSwipe help centre, 16 October 2026
  9. About Christian MingleChristian Mingle help centre, 25 August 2026
  10. Zoosk on the App StoreApple App Store, 16 October 2026
  11. Dating provider Spark Networks enters preliminary insolvencyGlobal Dating Insights, 21 January 2026
  12. EliteSingles to suddenly shut down on April 30Global Dating Insights, 30 April 2026
  13. EliteSingles relaunches under new ownershipGlobal Dating Insights, 1 September 2026
  14. ProSiebenSat.1 approves proposed agreement with General Atlantic on the acquisition of its minority stakes in NuCom Group and ParshipMeet GroupProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, 20 March 2025
  15. Perry Street Software acquires gay bear dating app GROWLr from The Meet GroupGlobal Dating Insights, 6 October 2026

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