TechCrunch say that SpeeDate has hijacked over 500,000 Facebook users from other Facebook applications.
As far as we can tell, all three modified applications were developed by HappyAppy, so it’s likely that SpeedDate either acquired the company with the $6 million it raised last month or the two companies share the same development team. Users are being sent brief messages notifying them that their applications have been renamed and “improvedâ€, but only after the switch has been made without their consent.
The three affected applications are:
* Have You Ever??? (353,217 monthly active users)
* Would You Rather (158,291)
* Romantic Gifts (28,164)
SpeedDate is growing but seems to have leveled off, we’ll see if the acquisitions continue to increase visitors. One this is for sure, acquiring existing Facebook apps is often cheaper than trying to get them through advertising.
This commenter sums up the situation:
Everyone wants users but bait and switch speaks to who you are and if you will do that what will you do with private conversations and user profiles. You are building a community of Trust with your members and when you pull a stunt like that then your members then have to worry about your ultimate intentions.
I’m sure SpeedDate has an explanation, hopefully Dan will chime in and help us understand their actions.
