Applications
happn’s Sunday Sharing Sessions bridges the gap between dating and mental health
Mumbai: The leading real-life dating app, happn, joined forces with The Alternative Story, a mental health service provider, to introduce an awe-inspiring initiative- Sunday Sharing Sessions. Through this collaboration, happn provided users with free counselling sessions, offering a safe space to discuss various topics, including digital dating nuances, identifying red flags, practising self-love, and coping with emotional burnout.
During the month-long association, which consisted of four Sundays, the initiative received an overwhelming response, with over 34,000 users visiting the Sunday Sharing Sessions website and over 735 successful counselling sessions. While the conversations were completely confidential, the therapists revealed that the major concerns were around societal expectations, guilt, loneliness and other such dilemmas.
The initiative also sheds light on specific situations which are especially challenging for people to deal with. These range from experiencing loneliness while living away from home, struggles of building new connections, intimacy issues including guilt about masturbation, attraction to perceived inappropriate individuals, and dealing with break-ups.
While women candidly shared their expectations for finding the right partner and family pressure regarding marriage, most men confessed to having trouble being vulnerable outside romantic relationships, highlighting the need for deeper connections and emotional support networks.
Through Sunday Sharing Sessions, happn and The Alternative Story provided a safe and supportive space for singles to explore their thoughts, feelings, and experiences related to dating and relationships.
As happn continues its commitment to fostering meaningful connections and supporting the mental health and well-being of its users, this partnership stands as a testament to the power of community, empathy, and collaboration in creating positive change.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
