Apple Spotlights MM Dating for Black History Month

To mark Black History Month, the UK Apple App Store has highlighted a number of platforms created by the UK and Ireland’s Black communities. One of these platforms is MM Dating, which matches compatible Black singles. 

The App Store spoke with Dayo Israel and Michelle Jima, Co-Founders of MM Dating, to explore the platform’s origins and value to Black communities.

Israel explains that “a lot of key nuances within African and Caribbean communities, such as dating within tribes or within islands, aren’t accounted for on mainstream apps”. Jima points out that “a few dating companies have done research and found that Black people tend to be the least desirable on their platforms”. 

Addressing these issues is the key value proposition for MM Dating, which recognises the “key attributes that people in our community are looking for”. Filters on the platform range from traditional attributes to advanced options, including parental origin, tribes, languages, and sickle cell carriers. 

Furthermore, the platform provides a safe space for the Black community. The co-founders told Apple that the platform has a robust moderation policy with zero tolerance for fetishisation and discrimination, deploying human moderators to ensure positivity.

Looking ahead, Israel and Jima share that they are looking to expand into IRL events. The platform’s Real Life mode will enable users to find potential matches at events and then make their first approach on the app. 

You can read the App Store’s feature on MM Dating here, and find out more about the dating platform on its website here. 

Dayo Israel, CEO and Co-Founder of MM Dating, joined Sean Nolan on The GDI Podcast in Novemeber 2022. Listen to that discussion here.