Dating apps now in the 'friend zone'

Burnt-out love seekers are shunning dating apps in their millions, but the apps are trying to woo them back with a counter offer: if you don't want a lover, perhaps you just need a friend?

The giants of the industry - Bumble and Match, which owns Tinder - have both created apps catering to friendly meet ups, joining countless smaller platforms that have already entered the friend zone.

Bumble For Friends launched in July last year and by the third quarter of this year, had about 730,000 monthly active users, according to figures from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

Bumble has also acquired the Geneva app, which caters to people wanting to form groups around particular interests.