JDate
{{short description|Online dating application targeted at Jewish singles}}
{{Redirect|JDATE|comic horror novel|John Dies at the End}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Jdate
| type = Subsidiary
| logo = Current_logo_of_dating_site_Jdate_(Logo_current_from_2018).png
| industry = Online dating
| key_people = Adam Berger (CEO)
| parent = Spark Networks
| website = {{URL|www.jdate.com}}
}}
Jdate, owned by Spark Networks, is a special-interest and niche online dating service aimed at Jewish singles. Along with JSwipe, also owned by Spark Networks, it is one of the largest online dating services targeting Jews. It is accessible via a website and a mobile app.
Members do not have to be Jewish and the service has also attracted non-Jews seeking Jewish mates.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/05/fashion/you-dont-have-to-be-jewish-to-love-jdate.html | last=Richards | first=Sarah E. | date=December 5, 2004 | title=You Don't Have to Be Jewish to Love JDate | work=The New York Times | url-access=limited}} Members can mark their Jewish affiliation on their profile.{{cite news | last=Hill | first=Logan | title=At ChristianMingle and JDate, God's Your Wingman | work=Bloomberg News | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-02-28/at-christianmingle-and-jdate-gods-your-wingman |date=27 March 2013 | url-access=subscription}}
Celebrities who are or have been Jdate members include Steve Rothman,{{cite news | url=https://thehill.com/capital-living/20565-in-the-know/ | last=Rothstein | first=Betsy | title=Dude, with those pipes ya shouldn't need Jdate |work=The Hill | date=November 29, 2006}}{{cite news | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Broadcast/spark-networks-niche-dating-web-site/story?id=10909280 |title='Niche' Singles Sites Claim Success | work=ABC News | date=March 1, 2013}} Brad Sherman,{{cite web | url=https://www.wonkette.com/p/d-ca-iso | title=D-CA ISO… | work=Wonkette | date=November 10, 2005}} Jesse McCartney,{{cite web | title=Celebrities on Jdate | url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/mixed-multitudes/celebrities-on-jdate/ | first=Tamar | last=Fox | work=70 Faces Media | date=December 29, 2010}} and Dan Markel.{{Cite news | url=https://people.com/where-is-wendi-adelson-now-11679401 | title=Was Wendi Adelson Involved in the Murder-for-Hire Plot of Her Ex-Husband? Inside Dan Markel's Killing — and Where She Is Now | first=Emily | last=Krauser | work=People | date=March 23, 2025}}
History
Jdate was founded as a website in 1997 by Alon Carmel and Joe Shapira in an apartment in West Los Angeles after the failure of their previous venture, Matrix Video Corporation. Membership grew rapidly by word of mouth in Jewish communities. Shapira left the company in 2004.{{Cite news | url=https://jewishjournal.com/cover_story/182412/ | title=Rounding out a big year, JDate CEO has reason to celebrate | work=The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles | date=February 11, 2016}}
In March 2011, Jdate sued online dating sites 2RedBeans, Zoosk, and OKCupid over a patent for "automating the process of confidentially determining whether people feel mutual attraction or have mutual interests".{{Cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/03/11/jdate-slaps-zoosk-okcupid-and-2redbeans-with-patent-lawsuit-over-secret-admiring/ | title=JDate Slaps Zoosk, OkCupid, And 2RedBeans With Patent Lawsuit Over Secret Admiring | first=Leena | last=Rao | work=TechCrunch | date=March 11, 2011}}
In February 2014, the site had 750,000 active users.{{Cite news | url=https://forward.com/opinion/192429/jdate-works-for-profit-and-the-continuity-of-the/ | title=JDate Works for Profit — and the Continuity of the Jewish People | first=Sam Z. | last=Glassenberg | work=The Forward | date=February 10, 2014}}
In November 2014, Jdate launched a dating app.{{cite news | title=JDate Launches New App, Making It Easier Than Ever to 'Get Chosen' - Spark Networks | url=https://www.newswire.com/news/jdate-launches-new-app-making-it-easier-than-ever-to-get-chosen | publisher=Newswire | date=November 10, 2014}} That month, Jdate sued JSwipe trademark of the letter "J". JDate's parent, Spark Networks, acquired JSwipe in October 2015.{{Cite news | url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/jdate-jswipe-couple-up-after-legal-spat/ | title=JDate, JSwipe couple up after legal spat | work=The Times of Israel | date=17 October 2015}}
In March 2018, Jdate launched in German, Spanish, and Polish.{{Cite news | url=https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/news/jdate-introduces-spanish-russian-german-polish/ | title=Jdate Introduces Spanish, Russian, German and Polish | first=Chloe | last=Gay | work=Global Dating Insights | date=March 15, 2018}}
Awards and recognition
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.jdate.com/}}
{{Organized Jewish Life in the United States |Communal activities}}
Category:1997 establishments in California
Category:Internet properties established in 1997
Category:Online dating services for specific interests