Plenty of Fish

Markus Frind, CEO of Plenty of Fish Media Inc., graduated in 1999 from British Columbia Institute of Technology with a diploma in Computer Systems Technology,{{cite web| url=https://www.bcit.ca/cas/cst/| title=School of Computing and Academic Studies: Computer Systems Technology| publisher=B.C. Institute of Technology| access-date=December 9, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012222622/http://www.bcit.ca/cas/cst/| archive-date=October 12, 2007| url-status=dead}} and founded the business in 2003.

In 2004, Plenty of Fish became a full-time money making business for Markus.{{cite web|last=Lehman|first=Michael|year=2007| url=http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=300230 |title=IIS Show #10 – PlentyOfFish.com and IIS 6 = Plenty of performance|publisher=Channel 9| access-date=April 12, 2007}} He ran the site independently until 2008, when he began hiring other employees at his new Vancouver headquarters. In 2009, Plenty of Fish also launched a contest with Lady Gaga allowing single members to go together and meet the singer during The Fame Ball Tour.{{cite web |last= |first= |date=November 2010 |title=PlentyofFish.com Teams Up With Lady Gaga |url=http://allourpress.typepad.com/plentyoffish/2009/11/plentyoffishcom-teams-up-with-lady-gaga.html |access-date=January 19, 2010}}

The website for Plenty of Fish appeared in several music videos in 2010: in Lady Gaga's "Telephone", Natasha Bedingfield's "Touch", Kesha's "We R Who We R", Flo Rida and Akon's "Available", Jason Derulo's "Ridin' Solo",{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Jason-Derulo-Is-Ridin-Solo-on-PlentyofFishcom-1276587.htm|title=Jason Derulo Is Ridin' Solo on PlentyofFish.com|date=June 2010|access-date=February 18, 2011}} and 3OH!3's "Double Vision". In 2011, it appeared in Britney Spears's music video for "Hold It Against Me". Many of these appearances are undisclosed paid product placements{{cite magazine|last=Hampp |first=Andrew |url=http://adage.com/article/madisonvine-news/miracle-whip-plenty-fish-tap-lady-gaga-s-telephone/142794/ |title=How Miracle Whip, Plenty of Fish Tap Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' |magazine=Advertising Age |date=March 13, 2010 |access-date=August 7, 2012}}{{cite news|last=Elliott |first=Stuart |url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/plenty-of-fish-one-web-site/ |title=Plenty of Fish, a Dating Site, Promotes Itself in Music Videos |newspaper=New York Times |date=February 17, 2011 |access-date=August 7, 2012}} which have been met with highly negative reviews.{{cite magazine|last=Weiner |first=Juli |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/02/plentyoffishcom-get-out-of-music-videos-and-get-back-to-the-internet |title=PlentyOfFish.com, Get Out of Music Videos and Get Back to the Internet |magazine=Vanity Fair |access-date=August 7, 2012}}{{cite news|last=Kelly |first=Liz |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/celebritology/2011/02/britney_spears_debuts_hold_it.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811024135/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/celebritology/2011/02/britney_spears_debuts_hold_it.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 11, 2011 |title=Celebritology 2.0 - Britney Spears debuts 'Hold It Against Me' video/infomercial |newspaper=Washington Post |date=February 18, 2011 |access-date=August 7, 2012}}

In 2010, Plenty of Fish launched mobile apps for iPhone and Android. A few years later, it was made available for both the iPad and Windows phone.{{cite news|url=http://www.bnewtech.com/pof-login-guide/#mobile|title=Dating in a Mobile Device|last=Torat|first=Hossain|date=May 10, 2017|publisher=The bNewTech Post|access-date=May 10, 2017}}{{cite web|title=Plenty of Fish dating app review|url=http://www.theappzine.com/content/plenty-fish-dating-app-review |publisher=theappzine.com}} In a June 2014 interview, Frind attributed 85% of all Plenty of Fish traffic to mobile with the number growing weekly.{{Cite web |date=2013-06-06 |title=Why One Dating Site CEO Hates Casual Hook-Ups |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/plenty-of-fish-age-difference_b_3381808 |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}

On January 21, 2011, it was discovered that the Plenty of Fish website had been hacked which exposed the personal and password information on nearly 30 million user accounts. Since the alleged hacking incident, Frind alleges he has identified persons he believes are responsible for the hacking, and alleges he is threatening legal action in response to the widespread negative media exposure. At the time this received global media exposure and security experts blamed Plenty of Fish for the security and privacy lapse specifically for keeping users' passwords unsecured.{{cite web|url=http://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/01/plentyoffish-com-hacked-blames-messenger/ |title=PlentyofFish.com Hacked, Blames Messenger|publisher=Krebsonsecurity.com |date=January 31, 2011 |access-date=May 18, 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://business.financialpost.com/2011/01/31/canadian-dating-website-plenty-of-fish-hacked/ |title=Plenty of Fish hacked, CEO recounts bizarre ordeal with hacker in blog post | FP Tech Desk | Financial Post |publisher=Business.financialpost.com |date=January 31, 2011 |access-date=May 18, 2012}}

On February 28, 2012, the parents of US Army Lieutenant Peter Burks sued Plenty of Fish. The parents' lawsuit alleges photos of their son, who was killed in Iraq in 2007, were used without permission. The parents were seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Paul Bloudoff, the firm's legal affairs manager responded by saying "Lt. Burks’ image was never used by POF.com in any way, shape or form, [a] third-party advertiser, with no affiliation to Plenty of Fish, ran an advertisement promoting another dating site using Lieutenant Burks’ picture, and one of the places this advertiser ran this advertisement happened to be our site."{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/peter-burks-plentyoffish|title=Canadian dating site Plenty of Fish sued for using dead U.S. soldier's photo|newspaper=National Post|access-date=February 20, 2012}}

In an August 2012 Forbes interview, Markus Frind stated that based on the millions of relationships and marriages Plenty of Fish has created over the past several years, it is estimated that over one million babies have been born as a result of the website.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyclay/2012/08/23/how-one-man-made-a-million-babies-with-free-online-dating/|title=How One Man Made A Million Babies With Free Online Dating|last=Clay|first=Kelly|date=August 23, 2012|work=Forbes|access-date=September 17, 2012}}

On May 20, 2013, Frind implemented several changes to the website with the stated goal of focusing on "meaningful relationships". Among these changes were the removal of the "intimate encounters" option.{{cite news |last1=Bignell |first1=Paul |last2=Hastings |first2=Rob |date=May 2013 |title=Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men |newspaper=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/plenty-of-fish-dating-site-founder-pulls-intimate-encounters-option-to-ward-off-sleazy-men-8626107.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/plenty-of-fish-dating-site-founder-pulls-intimate-encounters-option-to-ward-off-sleazy-men-8626107.html |archive-date=2022-05-24}} A related eliminated feature was the option to contact clients of age differences greater than "Markus", presumably Frind, found tasteful. Although the Plenty of Fish site and its "matching" criteria continue to match couples with age differences greater than the 14-year guideline, attempts to contact these "matches" resulted in an inbox message from Markus stating, among other things, "[t]here is no reason for a 50 year old man to contact a 18 year old woman."{{cite web|last1=incognito|url=http://datingfora.com/community/dating/pof-changes-age-restrictions-or-14-years-and-intimate-encounters.8422/|title=POF changes: Age Restrictions +or- 14 years AND intimate encounters|date=May 2013|access-date=October 28, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131030095216/http://datingfora.com/community/dating/pof-changes-age-restrictions-or-14-years-and-intimate-encounters.8422/|archive-date=October 30, 2013}} Another restriction implemented in the updates is that male users could no longer attach images to messages.{{cite web|url=http://forums.plentyoffish.com/datingPosts16032640.aspx|title=Males can no longer send private images to other users.}} Additionally, the site automatically blocks messages from male users containing certain words while showing such messages as being sent.{{cite web|url=https://forums.plentyoffish.com/datingPosts16430932.aspx|title=POF automatically blocks messages containing "offensive" words|date=2013}}

The image sending restriction was apparently reversed after Plenty of Fish was acquired by Match Group (but not "quick messages" directly from the match's profile page) and members outside of the 14-year age limit no longer appear as matches or in searches. Attempting to contact members outside of the 14-year limit now displays a page stating the user does not meet the member's contact criteria (even when untrue) and suggests several matches to contact instead of sending a message to the user's inbox.

In March 2015 Plenty of Fish Media Inc. was fined $48,000 for alleged violation of Canada's anti-spam law.{{cite web |url= https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/plentyoffish-media-inc-pays-48000-for-alleged-violation-of-canadas-anti-spam-law-497523001.html |title= Plentyoffish Media Inc. pays $48,000 for alleged violation of Canada's anti-spam law |agency= PR Newswire Association |website= prnewswire.com |access-date= November 12, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181113025818/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/plentyoffish-media-inc-pays-48000-for-alleged-violation-of-canadas-anti-spam-law-497523001.html |archive-date= November 13, 2018 |url-status= dead |df= dmy-all }}{{cite web |url= https://www.thestar.com/business/2015/03/27/plenty-of-fish-avis-fines-show-anti-spam-law-has-teeth-geist.html |title= Plenty of Fish avis fines show anti-spam law has teeth |agency= Star Business Journal |website=thestar.com |date= 27 March 2015 |access-date=November 12, 2018}}

On July 14, 2015, Plenty of Fish was sold for $575 million to Match Group (owner of Match.com, OkCupid, Tinder and Hinge, based in Dallas, Texas).[http://www.businessinsider.com/match-buys-plentyoffish-for-575-million-2015-7 Bootstrapped dating site PlentyOfFish has fewer than 100 employees and Match just bought it for $575 million in cash]. Retrieved July 14, 2015. The headquarters remain in Vancouver and have recently been expanded.{{Cite web|url=https://officesnapshots.com/2015/12/11/plentyoffish-vancouver-office-expansion/|title=Office Tour: PlentyOfFish – Vancouver Office Expansion|date=December 11, 2015|website=Office Snapshots|access-date=December 12, 2018}}

In August 2015, POF users were targeted by cyberattacks via a malicious adlink.{{cite web|url= https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/blog/users-of-dating-site-plenty-of-fish-targeted-by-cyber-attack |title= Users of dating site Plenty of Fish targeted by cyber attack |date= August 2015 |website= itgovernance.co.uk |access-date= November 12, 2018}}{{cite web |url= https://www.computerworld.com/article/2974521/malware-vulnerabilities/plenty-of-fish-and-exploits-on-dating-website.html |title= Plenty of fish, and exploits, on dating website |author= Lucian Constantin |date= August 21, 2015 |website= computerworld.com |access-date=November 12, 2018}}

In December 2019, Plenty of Fish pushed out a fix for its app after a security researcher found it was leaking information that users had set as private on their profiles, including hidden names and postal codes.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/23/plenty-of-fish-app-data-leak/|title=Plenty of Fish app leaked profile data set to private|website=TechCrunch|date=23 December 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=December 24, 2019}}

In March 2020, Plenty of Fish (now owned by Match Group) launched a livestream feature after a partnership to interact with users from other apps MeetMe and Skout (both owned by The Meet Group) and Zoosk (owned by Spark Networks).{{cite web|url=https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/news/plenty-of-fish-partners-with-the-meet-group-to-launch-live/|title=Plenty of Fish Partners With The Meet Group to Launch 'LIVE!'|date=19 March 2020 }}{{cite web|url=https://help.pof.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042471052-What-is-Live-|title=What is Live?}}

The site relied on volunteers to monitor forums and sort through the 50,000 new photos that, at most come in each day.{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/business/13digi.html?_r=3&ex=1357880400&en=9a69f05cdc551c11&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin |title=From 10 Hours a Week, $10 Million a Year |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=January 18, 2008 |first=Randall |last= Stross |date=January 13, 2008}} By 2019, Plenty of Fish employed over 100 people, including programmers, marketing managers, product managers, designers and customer success representatives.{{cite news |url= http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2012/08/pof-expands-team-to-66-and-creates-new-consumer-blog.html |title=POF Expands Team To 66, And Creates New Consumer Blog |publisher= OnlinePersonalsWatch |access-date= August 23, 2012}}

Plenty of Fish uses a Microsoft-based platform for itself, including IIS, ASP.NET, and Microsoft SQL.{{cite web |last=Frind |first=Markus |year=2007 |url=http://plentyoffish.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/looking-for-3-senior-software-developers/ |title=Looking for 3 Senior Software Developers |publisher=PlentyOfFish Blog |access-date=December 9, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227021548/http://plentyoffish.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/looking-for-3-senior-software-developers/ |archive-date=December 27, 2007 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://highscalability.com/plentyoffish-architecture|title=PlentyOfFish Architecture - High Scalability -|website=highscalability.com|access-date=March 22, 2018}}

• Registered users: 100,000,000 (March 2015)
• Dating site ranking in the UK: 1 (Comscore May 2011){{cite web |year=2011|url=http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2011/09/plentyoffishcom-is-the-most-visited-dating-site-in-the-uk-usa.html |title= PlentyOfFish.com Is the Most Visited Dating Site in the UK & USA |publisher=OPW |access-date= September 6, 2011}}
• Dating site ranking Worldwide: 1 (Hitwise, August 2011){{cite web |url= http://www.hitwise.com/us/datacenter/main/dashboard-10133.html |title=Online Trends - Experian Hitwise |publisher= Hitwise.com |date= December 31, 1999 |access-date= May 18, 2012}}
• U.S. site by market share: 1, with 18.57% of the market (Hitwise, August 2012){{cite news |year=2012| url= http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2012/09/us-online-dating-rankings-update.html |title= US Online Dating Rankings Update |publisher=OPW.com |access-date= September 17, 2012}}
• Number of page views a month: 2 Billion (April 2012){{cite web |year=2012|url=https://pofcustomerscarenumber.com |title=POF passes 100M weekly messages, 2 Billion Pageviews/Week |publisher=Plenty of fish blog |access-date= April 18, 2012}}
• Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Plenty of Fish reported a 0.7% increase in monthly active users in the final quarter of 2020.{{Cite news|last=Wu|first=Yan|date=February 13, 2021|title=Tinder, Bumble and Hinge Show Surge in Americans Looking for Love Online|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/tinder-bumble-and-hinge-show-surge-in-americans-looking-for-love-online-11613246400|access-date=March 6, 2021|issn=0099-9660}}

• Comparison of online dating services
• Timeline of online dating

{{RefList}}

• {{official website|www.pof.com}}
• [http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090101/and-the-money-comes-rolling-in.html Inc. Magazine profile of Markus Frind]

{{Portal bar|Internet|Human sexuality|Society}}

{{Vancouver Corporations}}

Category:Companies based in Vancouver

Category:IAC Inc.

Category:Internet properties established in 2003

Category:Online dating applications

Category:Online dating services of Canada