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== History == |
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Badoo was launched in Spain in November 2006 by ] and a group of young, forward thinking programmers and tech entrepreneurs. Originally the site was a conventional photo sharing website but in 2008 the focus changed to social networking<ref>{{cite web|last=Rowan|first=David|title=How Badoo built a billion-pound social network...on sex|url=http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/05/features/sexual-network|accessdate=25 April 2011}}</ref>. The vision was to use the most advanced technologies available to create an elegantly modern, fast and easy way for people to meet new people in their area - and have fun doing it. The scope would be global, but adapted to local needs. |
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] founded three companies prior to Badoo. The first, , a web-tracking business founded in 1999, helped webmasters track visits to their sites as well as tracking users’ habits on the web. The company ran until April 2010, when it’s service was bought by Openstat. |
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He went on to launch Begun in 2002, a contextual advertising firm often described as an earlier version of ]. A majority share of the company was purchased by Russian investment firm FINAM in 2004. ] tried to purchase Begun for $140 million in 2008. |
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Mamba was then launched in 2004 and has gone on to become one of the most popular dating sites in Russia with roughly 8 million users (or 13% of Russia’s ]) using its service. A majority share was sold in 2006 to FINAM and ]. |
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In 2008 Finam Capital injected $30m in the then two-year-old Badoo. Since then no further investment has been needed as Badoo has been profitable. |
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== Growth == |
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Following Badoo’s launch, it’s strongest markets were ] and ]. Its popularity grew rapidly and in 2012 it was achieving 60% growth and adding more than 125,000 new users year on year, according to ]<ref>{{cite web|last=Butcher|first=Mike|title=Badabing Badaboom - Badoo Hits 150 Million Usersm Boosted By Mobile|url=http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/04/badabing-badaboom-badoo-hits-150-million-users-boosted-by-mobile/|publisher=TechCrunch|accessdate=04 May 2012}}</ref> . |
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Badoo was officially launched in the ] on 23rd March 2012 with a campaign led by ], an American ], ], ], ] and ] personailty. The launch was a three day project involving four fashion photograpers taking new online profile pictures for 1,000 New Yorkers. The 24 best pictures were chosen through a Facebook ‘likes’ campaign and used on billboards and taxi advertising to promote Badoo’s launch<ref>{{cite web|last=Hernandez|first=Brian|title=Social Network Badoo Offically Launches in US with Nick Cannon|url=http://mashable.com/2012/03/23/badoo-us/|publisher=Mashable|accessdate=23 March 2012}}</ref> . |
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Since November 2011 mobile usage has increased by 100%<ref>{{cite web|last=Butcher|first=Mike|title=Badabing Badaboom - Badoo Hits 150 Million Usersm Boosted By Mobile|url=http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/04/badabing-badaboom-badoo-hits-150-million-users-boosted-by-mobile/|publisher=TechCrunch|accessdate=04 May 2012}}</ref>. Badoo’s ] page, as of June 2013, has over 8.7 million likes<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo's Facebook Page|url=http://facebook.com/badoo|publisher=Facebook Page|accessdate=24 July 2013}}</ref> . |
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== Corporate Affairs == |
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Badoo employs around 70 people in London and 200 worldwide. In June 2011 ] featured a picture tour of the new offices<ref>{{cite web|last=Taylor|first=Adam|title=Inside Badoo. The Biggest Start Up You’ve Never Heard Of (Photo Tour)|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/badoo-office-tour-photos-2011-06?op=1|publisher=Business Insider|accessdate=21 June 2011}}</ref> . Badoo’s other offices are located in ], ], ] and ]. |
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== Reception == |
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Badoo has received numerous ] for its ] and ] including: |
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– Nominated for Best International Startup – Crunchies 2011<ref>{{cite web|title=Crunchies 2011|url=http://techcrunch.com/search/crunchies+2011|accessdate=31 January 2011}}</ref> . |
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– Nominated for Best Social Network at the 5th Annual Mashable Awards 2011<ref>{{cite web|last=Haberman|first=Stephanie|title=The 5th Annual Mashable Awards 2011|url=http://mashable.com/2011/11/21/2011-mashable-awards-|accessdate=21 November 2011}}</ref> . |
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– Nominated in the Social Networking & Collaboration category at the 2011. |
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– ]’s Start-Up 100 Awards<ref>{{cite web|last=Yiannopoulos|first=Milo|title=Start-Up 100: the final list by category|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-startup100/8428668/Start-Up-100-the-final-list-by-category.html|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|accessdate=05 April 2011}}</ref> . |
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– Nominated as Highly Recommended for the The Europas Hero Award at the European Tech Startup Awards 2011<ref>{{cite web|last=Butcher|first=Mike|title=PeerIndex Takes The Honours As The Europas Awards Drifts Eastward|url=http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/18/peer-index-takes-the-honours-as-the-europas-awards-drifts-east/|publisher=Tech Crunch|accessdate=18 November 2011}}</ref> . |
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– One of the Top Most Innovative Companies 2012 by ]<ref>{{cite web|title=The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2012/industry/webinternet|publisher=Fastcompay}}</ref>. |
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== Demographics == |
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According to Wired magazine, the top three countries that use Badoo the most, as of 2012, are Brazil with 14.1 million members, Mexico with 9 million and France with 8.2 million. Overall 45% of Badoo users are female and 55% male<ref>{{cite web|last=Rowan|first=David|title=How Badoo built a billion-pound social network...on sex|url=http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/05/features/sexual-network|publisher=Wired.co.uk|accessdate=25 April 2011}}</ref>. |
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According to London Loves Business, in both Spain and Brazil roughly one in eight people who use the internet are Badoo members<ref>{{cite web|last=Hobson|first=Sophie|title=Badoo: Can the world’s fourth-largest social network break Britain?|url=http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/entrepreneurs/famous-entrepreneurs/badoo-can-the-worlds-fourth-largest-social-network-break-britain/2271.article|publisher=London Loves Business|accessdate=30 April 2012}}</ref> . |
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== Apps == |
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=== Badoo Apps === |
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Badoo is present on almost every ]. The first ] to be released by Badoo was for the ] 3 in December 2010<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo.com Paid iPhone App Available in UK|url=http://corp.badoo.com/fr/entry/blog/542/|work=Press Relase|publisher=Badoo|accessdate=22 December 2010}}</ref> . This was followed by the ] App in February 2011<ref>{{cite web|title=Meet New People on Badoo’s Android App|url=http://corp.badoo.com/en-gb/entry/blog/869/|publisher=Badoo|accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref> , ] App in December 2011, ] in August 2012<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo for Windows Phones is Here!|url=https://corp.badoo.com/entry/blog/2218/|publisher=Badoo|accessdate=02 August 2012}}</ref> and ] in 2013 along with the new ] app<ref>{{cite web|last=Yeung|first=Ken|title=Social dating service Badoo launches an iPad app for its 172 million users|url=http://thenextweb.com/apps/2013/02/08/social-dating-service-badoo-launches-an-ipad-app-for-its-172-million-users/|publisher=The Next Web|accessdate=08 February 2013}}</ref> . The iPad app has been well received and currently has a user rating of 4.5 out of 5 in the iTunes store. In 2013 Badoo’s android app was featured as one of ]'s ‘100 best Android Apps of 2013’<ref>{{cite web|last=Eddy|first=Max|title=The 100 Best Android Apps of 2013|url=http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,3253,l=287859&a=287861&po=51,00.asp|publisher=PC MAgazine|accessdate=03 July 2013}}</ref> . Badoo has just released a ] version of Badoo, which is present on the Firefox marketplace. |
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In 2011 Badoo’s Facebook app broke into the ‘Top 3 Facebook Apps in the World,’according to appdata.com<ref>{{cite web|title=Application Analytics for Facebook, iOS and Android|url=http://www.appdata.com/facebook_apps/|work=App Leader Board|publisher=appdata.com|accessdate=08 February 2011}}</ref> . |
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As of June 2013 the Badoo app has been rated: |
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– ] – average of 4.5 out of 5 with (over 500,000) 490,297 reviews and over 350K 5 star reviews<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo - Meet New People|url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.badoo.mobile&hl=en|publisher=Googe Play Store|accessdate=16 July 2013}}</ref> . |
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– Blackberry app store – 4 out of 5<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo app for blackberry|url=http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/25638/|publisher=Blackberry App World|accessdate=24 July 2013}}</ref> . |
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– Androidpit - 4.5 out of 5 with (over 500,000) 489,359 reviews<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo - Meet New People|url=http://www.androidpit.com/en/android/market/apps/app/com.badoo.mobile/Badoo-Meet-New-People|publisher=androidpit.com|accessdate=10 February 2012}}</ref> . |
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– iTunes App Store – 4.5 out of 5 from 468 (404) reviewers<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo iOS app|url=https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/badoo-meet-new-people-chat/id351331194?mt=8|work=iTunes App Store|publisher=https://itunes.apple.com}}</ref> . |
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=== Apps supported by Badoo === |
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] |
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Badoo supports Blendr as a white lable app. Blendr is powered by Badoo Trading Ltd and users are subject to the same ] and ] as Badoo users. Blendr was launched by Joel Simkhai CEO of ] in September 2011<ref>{{cite web|last=Gilbert|first=Jason|title=Grindr Creator Launches Blendr: Will Women Use A Random Hookup App?|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/11/grindr-creator-launches-blendr_n_954752.html|publisher=Huffington Post|accessdate=11 November 2011}}</ref> . |
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== Website & features == |
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Users must register with the site after which they create a personal profile. Users can register using a third-party log-in such as ], ], ], ] or ]. Users may also create an account directly with Badoo. |
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Badoo is a ] service. The basic service is extensive and free for everyone. As soon as members sign up they can chat, upload photos and videos and see and contact people who live in their area — or even a different city or part of the world. Some of Badoo’s free features include: |
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==== Ice Breaker ==== |
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This feature offers example conversation starters for users who need a helping hand introducing themselves to other users. |
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==== Interests ==== |
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Users can create a self-generated list of hobbies instead of pre-defined ones. |
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==== Anonymous Chat ==== |
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The anonymous chat game is part of Badoo's Chat feature. Badoo finds someone random for user to chat to and they have three minutes before deciding if they would like to see each other's picture and if they would like to keep chatting, or chat to someone new. |
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==== People Nearby ==== |
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The People Nearby section shows members in the user’s area and other cities, whilst the search lets users find people according to their interests. |
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==== Encounters ==== |
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Encounters allows users to see photos of other users who match their interests. Users can increase how often they appear in Encounters when other Badoo users are looking at it for 100 credits. |
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==== Visitors ==== |
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Users get to see who visited their profile. |
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==== Matches ==== |
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Playing encounters or visiting profiles enables users to build up a list of profiles they like as well as a list of people who like them. |
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Badoo offers premium paid options for those who wish to be seen by far more people in their area and to truly take advantage of all the possibilities available on Badoo. These premium options aim to increase user’s success in attracting and selecting the people they would like to meet and connect to. Some of Badoo’s premium features include: |
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==== Credits ==== |
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The main benefits of credits are: to enable users to ‘Rise Up’ in search results, ‘step into the Spotlight’ on the search page and get more displays in Encounters. |
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==== Rise Up ==== |
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Rise Up is one of Badoo's paid features. For 100 credits the users profile is boosted to the top of people’s search results in the users area, this raises user visibility and increases the chances of being contacted by other Badoo users. |
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==== SuperPowers ==== |
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The Super Powers feature is subscription-based and includes a range of premium features that basic users don’t have. Super Powers can be bought for one, three, six or twelve months. |
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==== Spotlight ==== |
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Spotlight enables users to put their photo at the top of the page so everyone in their area can see it. The Spotlight strip is a carousel of profile pictures visible in almost every page of the website. Users can increase their visibility at the cost of 100 credits each time. |
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==== Favourites ==== |
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A favourites list, as part of the Superpowers package, enables users to easily access profiles of people they like t |
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o chat to. Users are also able to see who has added them to their favourites list. |
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== Criticisms == |
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=== Censorship & Blocked Countries === |
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Badoo has met with some controversy and it’s flirtatious aspect is assumed to be the reason it has been has been blocked in Iran (2010), China and the United Arab Emirates (2011), though no official reason has been given<ref>{{cite web|last=Butcher|first=Mike|title=Social network Badoo is banned in Iran|url=http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/05/social-network-badoo-is-banned-in-iran/|publisher=TechCrunch|accessdate=05 January 2010}}</ref>. |
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=== Spam === |
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Badoo has been met with criticism for allegedly spamming and scamming. There have been user complaints stating that they were signed up without their consent and that Badoo sent spam emails to their entire address book without permission telling them their friend "has left you a message."<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo.com sending spam to all my contacts on my behalf, asking them to logon to their site|url=http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/gmail/Jh2L2rlh4AU|publisher=productforums.google.com|accessdate=13 September 2010}}</ref> . Rather than their friend leaving them an actual message Badoo sends a template email asking your contacts to join up as well. Blogger Daniel Stuckey says, "With its shiny presentation, sexualised premise and slick startup ploys, Badoo feels like a bizarre super-collider of radical honesty and spammy fakery; that is to say, a souvenir of the Internet"<ref>{{cite web|last=Stuckey|first=Daniel|title=Badoo is an Enigma Wrapped in a Puzzle Wrapped in Spam|url=http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/badoo-is-an-enigma-wrapped-in-a-puzzle-wrapped-in-spam|publisher=motherboard.vice.com|accessdate=July 2012}}</ref> . |
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=== Fake Profiles === |
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Badoo has been accused of generating fake profiles by harvesting information posted by users on other social networking sites, without these users consent<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo Complaint - fake profile|url=http://badoo-com-reviews.measuredup.com/Complaint-fake-profile-27490|publisher=measuredup.com|accessdate=2010}}</ref>. Badoo responded to the complaints by asking users to send their details, via the website feedback page, so they could look into the problems. There have been no recorded complaints to the UK Data Protection Commissioner<ref>{{cite web|title=Search the ICO website|url=http://search.ico.org.uk/ico/search?q=badoo|accessdate=24 July 2013}}</ref> . |
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In 2011 the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reported that Badoo profiles were been created without people's consent. It also states that Badoo may use several Facebook applications to automatically gather Facebook users' personal information<ref>{{cite web|last=Reinikainen|first=Pauli|title=Treffipalvelu varastaa profiilitiedot. Varo tätä sovellusta Facebookissa|url=http://www.iltalehti.fi/digi/2011012113041159_du.shtml|accessdate=21 January 2011}}</ref>. |
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According to Badoo’s website “accounts can be deleted by signing into the profile, if you can’t remember or believe you don’t have a password then you can enter your email address and a new password will be sent to you . Once in your account click the ‘Delete Profile’ button on the left hand-side of the screen and follow the instructions. Deleted profiles are immediately unsearchable on Badoo’s website but are left inactive for 30 days. If the user has not signed back on during that time the account will then be permanently deleted<ref>{{cite web|title=How do I delete my Badoo profile|url=http://badoo.com/help/?release=19_129#i19_129|publisher=Badoo|accessdate=24 July 2013}}</ref> . |
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When joining Badoo through Facebook or other partners, Badoo’s privacy policy states that, ‘If you have registered on one of our partner websites, such as Facebook, your Profile will be available to all users of the Badoo social network whether via our site or our partners’ websites’.<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo Privacy Policy|url=http://badoo.com/privacy/|publisher=Badoo|accessdate=24 July 2013}}</ref>. Badoo’s Safety & Security policies were reviewed by John Carr, UK Government Advisor on Internet safety and security, in September 2011. |
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Opinions of Badoo.com on ], which are based on user reviews, rather than press releases, rate the site as 'Very low', with a current score of 1.7 out of 10 (as of 26th June 2013). Complaints included fake profiles, and spamming of email accounts of signed-up users<ref>{{cite web|title=Trust Pilot Badoo Review|url=http://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.badoo.com|publisher=Trust Pilot}}</ref>. However opinion differs and many bloggers enjoy and recommend using the site<ref name="02 October 2012">{{cite web|title=Badoo Review: waste of time or many conquests?|url=http://www.olped.org/badoo-review-waste-of-time-or-many-conquests.html|publisher=olped.org}}</ref> . In a peer-reviewed study conducted and published by Cambridge University in 2009, it was given the lowest score for privacy amongst the 45 social networking sites examined at that time<ref>{{cite journal|last=Joseph|first=Bonneau|coauthors=Preibusch, Sören|title="The Privacy Jungle: On the Market for Privacy in Social Networks|journal=WEIS '09: Proceedings of the Eighth Workshop on the Economics of Information Security.|year=2009|url=http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~jcb82/doc/privacy_jungle_bonneau_preibusch.pdf}}</ref> . |
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Whilst some scamming may exist and some members have had concerns regarding fake profiles on Badoo, any scammers found or reported to Badoo are normally removed from the site in around 15 minutes. |
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Badoo uses an intelligent ] that ensures users who are not behaving appropriately are tagged and prevented from contacting other users<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo Community Guidelines|url=https://badoo.com/guidelines/|publisher=Badoo|accessdate=24 July 2013}}</ref>. |
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According to ] Badoo is "like a chat room, dating site and picture rating site disguised as a social network." It was noted Badoo did not offer any group or other type of community to facilitate users meeting similar people. |
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== Open source == |
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Badoo has released several pieces of software under an ] licence, including various improvements to the PHP scripting language, the Pinba real time statistics server, and the Blitz template engine<ref>{{cite web|title=Pinba Home Page|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20101007205043/http://pinba.org/Main_Page|publisher=Web Archive}}</ref>. |
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Michelle Kennedy, Head of Legal for Badoo, was interviewed for The Lawyer magazine in September 2011 regarding open source material<ref>{{cite web|title=Social Worker: Michelle Kennedy, Badoo|url=http://www.thelawyer.com/social-worker-michelle-kennedy-badoo/1009149.article|publisher=The Lawyer|accessdate=12 September 2011}}</ref> . |
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Badoo has also opened a blog in the popular Russian community ] and often publishes articles sharing best practices with the developer community<ref>{{cite web|title=Badoo|url=http://habrahabr.ru/company/badoo|publisher=Habrahabr|accessdate=24 July 2013}}</ref> . |
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== Automatic IP blocking of users trying to delete profiles == |
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== Automatic IP blocking of users trying to delete profiles == |
The Badoo staff is clever: first the whole "someone sent you a message", using a profile made of information illegally (and I know my consumer and privacy law) harvested on other social networks and then used on their website, and when you follow that link (I had to, because the concerned person recently started suffering from social isolation and could end up in depression) it creates a "profile" automatically. Hopefully, I only gave them fake info and a fake picture.
This is where it gets really funny: you "can" delete a profile, but for that you need your password. To get your password, you need to request it first. When you request it, after going in the account deletion menu, they immediately flag your account as "suspicious" and block your IP from the entire website.
I just tried it with junk email addresses and other Internet lines (= so different IPs) here, and am able to reproduce it. Same with proxies. It's not the cache nor the cookies (tried clearing the cache, using other browsers, other devices on the same fixed-IP line).
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