2 years ago, The Independent reported on an investigation into racism on dating sites. Very present on different applications, this discrimination discouraged more than one user. Since ” Black Lives Matter » rages, and dating applications have had to review certain criteria. Many have made the decision to remove settings on ethnicity preferences. At the end of June 2026, Once made this new resolution a reality. The “slow dating” application opts for a less aggressive model.
According to Ounce, nearly 25% of its users provide information about their ethnicity. This information, available on their profiles, was therefore quite common. In return, 9% of members mention their dating preferences in relation to one ethnicity or another. Removing these criteria permanently would have given a new dynamic to dating.
In 2019, these criteria were commonplace, and were presented on the vast majority of sites and applications dedicated to romantic encounters. Relieved of these criteria, the platforms would significantly reduce possible discrimination based on preferences. In 2026, these ethnicity parameters will be gradually removed from user profiles on Once.
For the director of the platform, this decision would be part of the benevolent use of technologies. The objective is simple: to offer romantic encounters that would not suffer from the racism that has become ordinary. While this is just a first step in a long war, engaging with communities should help suppress more aggressive forms of widespread racist messaging.
The question then arises as to whether ultimately, the famous dating sites between blacks, mixed race and afros for example are racist sites, or simply niche sites? The same then for gay dating sites? Who ultimately should highlight homosexuality, and not the term gay? Perhaps we are heading towards the end of this type of service, which is a little too affinity-based?
