# Who owns which dating app? The 2026 ownership map

Published 2026-10-16. Updated 2026-10-16. https://www.datingapi.io/insights/who-owns-dating-apps

**In short:** Most 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

| Owner | Main apps and brands | Status | What changed recently |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Match Group | Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, Pairs, Azar, BLK, Chispa, The League, Upward, Salams, HER | Public, files results with the SEC | Smaller brands grouped as "Everyone Everywhere" |
| Bumble Inc | Bumble, Badoo, BFF | Public, agreed to go private | Ithaca Holdings deal agreed 13 October 2026 |
| Grindr Inc | Grindr | Public, files results with the SEC | Growing revenue and payers in 2026 |
| ParshipMeet Group | eharmony, Parship, ElitePartner, MeetMe, LOVOO, Tagged, Skout | Owned by ProSiebenSat.1 (sole owner since 2025) | Formed in 2020 |
| Hello Group | Momo, Tantan, happn, Soulchill, Hertz | Public, publishes quarterly results | Bought happn in 2025 |
| Black Cap Holdings | Zoosk, JDate, JSwipe, Christian Mingle, LDS Dating | Private | Now runs brands Spark Networks operated |
| SuccessfulMatch | EliteSingles | Private | Relaunched 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].

## What it means for dating app operators

- **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].
- **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.
- **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.
- **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.

## 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 [1].

**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 [3].

**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 [8][9].

**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 [5][14].

**Who owns happn?**

Hello Group, the Beijing company behind Momo and Tantan. The deal was announced in September 2025 [7].

## Sources

1. Match Group Q2 2026 shareholder letter, Match Group (SEC filing), 2026-08-04. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000891103/000089110326000128/mtch8-k20260804ex992.htm
2. Bumble Inc. second quarter 2026 results, Bumble Inc (SEC filing), 2026-08-05. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001830043/000183004326000099/bmbl-ex991prxq22026.htm
3. Bumble to be acquired by Ithaca Holdings, Bumble Inc (SEC filing), 2026-10-13. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001830043/000095010326015480/dp254907_ex9901.htm
4. Grindr Q2 2026 shareholder letter, Grindr Inc (SEC filing), 2026-08-06. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001820144/000182014426000023/shl_q2x2026xfinal.htm
5. The Meet Group announces closing of acquisition by eharmony parent company Parship Group, The Meet Group, 2020-09-04. https://www.themeetgroup.com/the-meet-group-announces-closing-of-acquisition-by-eharmony-parent-company-parship-group/
6. Hello Group announces unaudited financial results for the second quarter of 2026, Hello Group via PR Newswire, 2026-09-03. https://finviz.com/news/388434/hello-group-inc-announces-unaudited-financial-results-for-the-second-quarter-of-2026
7. happn acquired by Hello Group as CEO calls for industry reinvention, Global Dating Insights, 2025-09-19. https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/featured/happn-acquired-by-hello-group-as-ceo-calls-for-industry-reinvention/
8. About Black Cap, JSwipe help centre, 2026-10-16. https://support.jswipeapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/51209753777556-About-Black-Cap
9. About Christian Mingle, Christian Mingle help centre, 2026-08-25. https://support.christianmingle.com/hc/en-us/articles/52183650243348-About-Christian-Mingle
10. Zoosk on the App Store, Apple App Store, 2026-10-16. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/zoosk-social-dating-app/id349160522
11. Dating provider Spark Networks enters preliminary insolvency, Global Dating Insights, 2026-01-21. https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/featured/dating-provider-spark-networks-enters-preliminary-insolvency/
12. EliteSingles to suddenly shut down on April 30, Global Dating Insights, 2026-04-30. https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/featured/elitesingles-to-suddenly-shut-down-on-april-30/
13. EliteSingles relaunches under new ownership, Global Dating Insights, 2026-09-01. https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/featured/elitesingles-relaunches-under-new-ownership/
14. ProSiebenSat.1 approves proposed agreement with General Atlantic on the acquisition of its minority stakes in NuCom Group and ParshipMeet Group, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, 2025-03-20. https://www.prosiebensat1.com/en/newsroom/prosiebensat1-approves-proposed-agreement-with-general-atlantic-on-the-acquisition-of-its-minority-stakes-in-nucom-group-and-parshipmeet-group-together-with-an-intended-sale-of-verivox-513729
15. Perry Street Software acquires gay bear dating app GROWLr from The Meet Group, Global Dating Insights, 2026-10-06. https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/featured/perry-street-software-acquires-growlr/