Car hailing apps being used to find hook ups in China
Chuang Shu-chung and Staff Reporter
2015-06-20
The Google play page for the dating app U+. (Internet photo)
People seeking casual sexual encounters are looking beyond social networking and dating apps in China, with car hailing app Uber reportedly becoming the new tool of choice.
Luxury car owners have been signing up to Uber to impress passengers with their cars and some passengers are happy to connect with potential partners who own their own car.
Social networking and dating apps in China have also begun to try and differentiate themselves as the market becomes overcrowded.
One of the dating apps, tataUFO, which was launched by students at Peking University and Tsinghua University in Beijing, targets university students and claims to have facilitated 4,000 successful "encounters."
To bank on online dating demand, some apps have begun charging users for access to contact information or to ask someone on a date.
Many of the apps are populated by a large number of sex workers and there have been several stories about young women being blackmailed after sending nude photos to what they thought were potential boyfriends through dating apps.
