Talk:Badoo/Archive 2

New Section: Website & Features
I propose the neutral and factual section on Website & Features. These are all neutral & factual and in perfect keeping with the presentation of site features on wikipedia pages describing other sites and services.


 * == Website & features ==
 * Users must register with the site after which they create a personal profile. Users can register using a third-party log-in such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, VK.com or odnoklassniki.ru. Users may also create an account directly with Badoo.
 * Badoo is a freemium 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:
 * ==== Ice Breaker ====
 * This feature offers example conversation starters for users who need a helping hand introducing themselves to other users.
 * ==== Interests ====
 * Users can create a self-generated list of hobbies instead of pre-defined ones.
 * ==== Anonymous Chat ====
 * 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.
 * ==== People Nearby ====
 * 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.
 * ==== Encounters ====
 * 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.
 * ==== Visitors ====
 * Users get to see who visited their profile.
 * ==== Matches ====
 * 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.
 * 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:
 * ==== Credits ====
 * 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.
 * ==== Rise Up ====
 * 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.
 * ==== SuperPowers ====
 * 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.
 * ==== Spotlight ====
 * 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.
 * ==== Favourites ====
 * A favourites list, as part of the Superpowers package, enables users to easily access profiles of people they like t
 * o chat to. Users are also able to see who has added them to their favourites list.
 * 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.
 * ==== Favourites ====
 * A favourites list, as part of the Superpowers package, enables users to easily access profiles of people they like t
 * o chat to. Users are also able to see who has added them to their favourites list.

Lucspook (talk) 11:15, 18 September 2013 (UTC)


 * Given the lack of contention on this section and that consensus was largely reached on this section a couple of months ago I'll put back i unless there are any major issues? Lucspook (talk) 14:12, 19 September 2013 (UTC)


 * Consensus of multiple Wikipedians seems to be that your proposed text is unacceptable: please see my comments of 04:29, 12 September 2013 above. Plus, your proposed text is completely unsourced, and I feel that this makes it even more unacceptable. Finally, if a change was reverted once, or especially if it was reverted more than once, then of course there is contention. Cheers, &mdash;Unforgettableid (talk) 19:12, 30 September 2013 (UTC)


 * Thank you Unforgettableid (talk) for the feedback. I take on board your feedback and will re-think, re-source and re-draft for your and others consideration.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lucspook (talk • contribs) 14:26, 2 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Hi Unforgettableid and others. I've rewritten attempting to address all of the concerns raised before. I propose this revised section:


 * == Website & features ==


 * Users must register with the site after which they create a personal profile. Users can register using a third-party log-in such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, VK.com or odnoklassniki.ru. Users may also create an account directly with Badoo.


 * Badoo is a freemium service where the basic service is free for everyone but users have an option to pay for premium features. As soon as members sign up they can chat, upload photos and videos. Users can see and contact people who live in their area using the 'People Nearby' feature or in a different city or part of the world using the 'Search' feature . Another free feature is the 'Encounters' game where users click a yes, no, or maybe option on other users' photos and if there is a match then the two users are notified.


 * There are several premium services that users can pay to use including the "rise up" feature to promote oneself higher in the search results and so attract greater attention. Users can also pay to their your profile photo more widely visible across the site . Users can also buy "Super Powers" to see more search results, who wants to meet them, and see which of their messages have been read.


 * Thanks Lucspook (talk) 21:55, 31 October 2013 (UTC)

New Section: Criticsm
In order to add a proper structure, prevent duplication of similar topics, I propose bringing all the criticisms under one umbrella heading. The New section would read:


 * Criticisms
 * Censorship & Blocked Countries
 * Badoo has met with some controversy and its 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.[40]
 * Spam
 * 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.".[41] 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".[42]
 * Fake Profiles
 * Badoo has been accused of generating fake profiles by harvesting information posted by users on other social networking sites, without these users consent.[43] 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.[44] 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.[45] 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.[46] 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’.[47] Badoo’s Safety & Security policies were reviewed by John Carr, UK Government Advisor on Internet safety and security, in September 2011.
 * Opinions of Badoo.com on TrustPilot, 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 26 June 2013). Complaints included fake profiles, and spamming of email accounts of signed-up users.[48] However opinion differs and many bloggers enjoy and recommend using the site.[49] 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.[50] 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. Badoo uses an intelligent algorithm that ensures users who are not behaving appropriately are tagged and prevented from contacting other users.[51]
 * According to TopTenReviews 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.
 * Badoo has been accused of generating fake profiles by harvesting information posted by users on other social networking sites, without these users consent.[43] 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.[44] 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.[45] 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.[46] 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’.[47] Badoo’s Safety & Security policies were reviewed by John Carr, UK Government Advisor on Internet safety and security, in September 2011.
 * Opinions of Badoo.com on TrustPilot, 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 26 June 2013). Complaints included fake profiles, and spamming of email accounts of signed-up users.[48] However opinion differs and many bloggers enjoy and recommend using the site.[49] 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.[50] 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. Badoo uses an intelligent algorithm that ensures users who are not behaving appropriately are tagged and prevented from contacting other users.[51]
 * According to TopTenReviews 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.
 * According to TopTenReviews 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.
 * According to TopTenReviews 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.

Lucspook (talk) 15:05, 19 September 2013 (UTC)


 * No. The essay WP:CRITICISM is completely against "Criticism" sections, and it seems to me that the policy WP:NPOV isn't in favor of "Criticism" sections either. And so I personally am against your idea, though I would welcome input from a third party. Cheers, &mdash;Unforgettableid (talk) 19:12, 30 September 2013 (UTC)


 * I'm not seeing any advantage to the restructure, given that many Wikipedians (including Jimbo, I believe) oppose criticism sections. Better to deal with the good and the bad as it would naturally come up throughout the article. Adrian J. Hunter(talk•contribs) 13:29, 1 October 2013 (UTC)


 * As I hope other Wikipedians can see I've made a real effort to do better with learning the guidelines and writing better sections. I understand much better why my initial proposals were rejected! I've been doing rather a lot of reading on how to deal with the criticisms and accusations. As was pointed out to me  WP:CRITICISM is completely against "Criticism" sections and that criticism need to be balanced and neutral and run throughout the content of the piece, rather than having a dedicated section to it. The current 'deceptive bulk email' and 'Other criticisms' section clearly fall foul of the same guidelines. With this in mind I have drafted the below section on 'Reception' which I have drafted below.


 * ===Reception===


 * Growth


 * Following Badoo’s launch, it grew rapidly gaining millions of monthly active users . In September 2011, The Economist published an article that explained how Badoo had a shot at becoming "one of Europe’s leading internet firms" and that Badoo seems to have discovered a large new market..


 * Badoo was officially launched in the USA on 23rd March 2012 with a campaign led by celebrity Nick Cannon. 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.


 * Badoo is claimed to be the world’s fourth-largest social network with users spread across 180 countries. According to a Badoo press release reported by London Loves Business, it is growing by 125,000 new users a day. According to the article, in both Spain and Brazil, roughly one in eight people who use the internet are Badoo members.


 * Spam & Fake Profiles


 * Some of Badoo's early growth has been attributed to 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." . Blogger Daniel Stuckey complains that "The site sends messages to all email addresses it can find through your accounts, with minimal consent, promising that a message from you awaited them at the other end" . Rather than their friend leaving them an actual message Badoo sent a template email asking their contacts to join up as well.


 * Other reported complaints from 2011 accuse Badoo of scraping their profile data from other social networks or dating services and creating fake profiles without their consent . 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.


 * Reviews


 * Despite the high rating of Badoo's mobile applications, opinions of Badoo.com on TrustPilot, which are based on user reviews, rate the site as 'Very low', with a current score of 1.7 out of 10 . Complaints included fake profiles, and spamming of email accounts of signed-up users . However opinion differs and many bloggers enjoy and recommend using the site . 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.


 * Awards


 * Badoo has received or been nominated for numerous awards including:
 * Nominated for Best International Startup – Crunchies 2011.
 * Nominated for Best Social Network at the 5th Annual Mashable Awards 2011.
 * Nominated in the Social Networking & Collaboration category at the 2011. [footnote]
 * –[Daily Telegraph]]’s Start-Up 100 Awards.
 * Nominated as Highly Recommended for the The Europas Hero Award at the European Tech Startup Awards 2011.
 * One of the Top Most Innovative Companies 2012 by FastCompany.


 * I'm sure you'll let me know what you think! Lucspook (talk) 11:46, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

Updated new and revised Sections on basis of feedback
On the basis of feedback on previous talk sections, particularity from Unforgettableid (talk) and Adrian J. Hunter(talk), I updated my suggested edits and posted them in line with the previous suggestions. I've not had feedback so I am reposting a-new below. I believe these address all of the criticism on the suggested edits so I am planning to update the main article accordingly but wanted to lay it out again here in case there were any further suggestions :

Website & features
Users must register with the site after which they create a personal profile. Users can register using a third-party log-in such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, VK.com or odnoklassniki.ru. Users may also create an account directly with Badoo.

Badoo is a freemium service where the basic service is free for everyone but users have an option to pay for premium features. As soon as members sign up they can chat, upload photos and videos. Users can see and contact people who live in their area using the 'People Nearby' feature or in a different city or part of the world using the 'Search' feature. Another free feature is the 'Encounters' game where users click a yes, no, or maybe option on other users' photos and if there is a match then the two users are notified.

There are several premium services that users can pay to use including the "rise up" feature to promote oneself higher in the search results and so attract greater attention. Users can also pay to their your profile photo more widely visible across the site. Users can also buy "Super Powers" to see more search results, who wants to meet them, and see which of their messages have been read.

Badoo Mobile Applications
Badoo is present on almost every mobile platform. The first App to be released by Badoo was for the iPhone the summer 2010, followed by Android in March 2011 , Blackberry in December 2011 , Windows Mobile in July 2012 , and HTML 5 in 2013 along with an iPad app.

In 2011 Badoo’s Facebook app broke into the ‘Top 3 Facebook Apps in the World’ according to appdata.com and in 2013 Badoo’s android app was featured as one of PC Magazine's ‘100 best Android Apps of 2013’.

As of October 2013 the Badoo app has been rated: Google Play – average of 4.5 out of 5, Blackberry app store – 4 out of 5 , Androidpit - 4.5 out of 5 , iTunes App Store – 4.5 out of 5.

Reception
Growth

Following Badoo’s launch, it grew rapidly gaining millions of monthly active users. In September 2011, The Economist published an article that explained how Badoo had a shot at becoming "one of Europe’s leading internet firms" and that Badoo seems to have discovered a large new market. .

Badoo was officially launched in the USA on 23rd March 2012 with a campaign led by celebrity Nick Cannon. 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.

Badoo is claimed to be the world’s fourth-largest social network with users spread across 180 countries. According to a Badoo press release reported by London Loves Business, it is growing by 125,000 new users a day. According to the article, in both Spain and Brazil, roughly one in eight people who use the internet are Badoo members.

Spam & Fake Profiles

Some of Badoo's early growth has been attributed to 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." . Blogger Daniel Stuckey complains that "The site sends messages to all email addresses it can find through your accounts, with minimal consent, promising that a message from you awaited them at the other end". Rather than their friend leaving them an actual message Badoo sent a template email asking their contacts to join up as well.

Other reported complaints from 2011 accuse Badoo of scraping their profile data from other social networks or dating services and creating fake profiles without their consent. 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.

Reviews

Despite the high rating of Badoo's mobile applications, opinions of Badoo.com on TrustPilot, which are based on user reviews, rate the site as 'Very low', with a current score of 1.7 out of 10. Complaints included fake profiles, and spamming of email accounts of signed-up users. However opinion differs and many bloggers enjoy and recommend using the site. 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.

Awards


 * Badoo has received or been nominated for numerous awards including:
 * Nominated for Best International Startup – Crunchies 2011.
 * Nominated for Best Social Network at the 5th Annual Mashable Awards 2011.
 * Nominated in the Social Networking & Collaboration category at the 2011. [footnote]
 * –[Daily Telegraph]]’s Start-Up 100 Awards.
 * Nominated as Highly Recommended for the The Europas Hero Award at the European Tech Startup Awards 2011.
 * One of the Top Most Innovative Companies 2012 by FastCompany.

Lucspook (talk) 20:46, 13 November 2013 (UTC)

Moves and additions in the same edit
Hi Lucspook.

I recently reverted your edits of 18 November 2013. I reverted to revision 581973624 of 16 November 2013 by User:Trivialist. Lucspook, you both added text and reorganized the article in one massive edit.

Dear Lucspook: Please do not add text and reorganize the article in the same edit. This makes it hard for us to use Wikipedia's built-in diff tool to review the edit. Instead:


 * First make an edit which adds text.
 * (Optionally, you may wait a few weeks to see if you get reverted. If you don't want to wait at all, though, you don't have to.)
 * Then make another edit which reorganizes the article.

Cheers, —Unforgettableid (talk) 21:22, 19 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the explanation Unforgettableid (talk). I have now added in two new sections as per the above talk discussions. Regarding the proposed 'Reception' I woul d really appreciate your feedback. I feel that I am making much better content for the page (having learned a few lessons on the way, in part thanks to you) but am getting called out on matters of protocol. Thanks Lucspook (talk) 23:00, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

History
Badoo was launched in Spain in November 2006 by Andrey Andreev 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. 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.

Andrey Andreev founded three companies prior to Badoo. The first, SpyLOG, 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.

He went on to launch Begun in 2002, a contextual advertising firm often described as an earlier version of Google AdWords. A majority share of the company was purchased by Russian investment firm FINAM in 2004. Google tried to purchase Begun for $140 million in 2008.

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 Internet population) using its service. A majority share was sold in 2006 to FINAM and Mail.ru.

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.

Growth
Following Badoo’s launch, it’s strongest markets were Southern Europe and Latin America. 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 Techcrunch.

Badoo was officially launched in the USA on 23rd March 2012 with a campaign led by Nick Cannon, an American actor, comedian, rapper, TV and radio 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.

Since November 2011 mobile usage has increased by 100%. Badoo’s Facebook page, as of June 2013, has over 8.7 million likes.

Corporate Affairs
Badoo employs around 70 people in London and 200 worldwide. In June 2011 Business Insider featured a picture tour of the new offices. Badoo’s other offices are located in Moscow, San Francisco, Cyprus and Malta.

Reception
Badoo has received numerous awards for its innovation and technology including: –	Nominated for Best International Startup – Crunchies 2011. –	Nominated for Best Social Network at the 5th Annual Mashable Awards 2011. –	Nominated in the Social Networking & Collaboration category at the 2011. [footnote] –	Daily Telegraph’s Start-Up 100 Awards. –	Nominated as Highly Recommended for the The Europas Hero Award at the European Tech Startup Awards 2011. –	One of the Top Most Innovative Companies 2012 by FastCompany.

Demographics
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.

According to London Loves Business, in both Spain and Brazil roughly one in eight people who use the internet are Badoo members.

Badoo Apps
Badoo is present on almost every mobile platform. The first App to be released by Badoo was for the iPhone 3 in December 2010. This was followed by the Android App in February 2011, Blackberry App in December 2011, Windows in August 2012   and HTML 5 in 2013 along with the new iPad app. 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 PC Magazine's ‘100 best Android Apps of 2013’. Badoo has just released a Firefox version of Badoo, which is present on the Firefox marketplace.

In 2011 Badoo’s Facebook app broke into the ‘Top 3 Facebook Apps in the World,’according to appdata.com.

As of June 2013 the Badoo app has been rated: –	Google Play – average of 4.5 out of 5 with (over 500,000) 490,297 reviews and over 350K 5 star reviews. –	Blackberry app store – 4 out of 5. –	Androidpit - 4.5 out of 5 with (over 500,000) 489,359 reviews. –	iTunes App Store – 4.5 out of 5 from 468 (404) reviewers.

Apps supported by Badoo
Blendr Badoo supports Blendr as a white lable app. Blendr is powered by Badoo Trading Ltd and users are subject to the same terms and conditions and privacy policy as Badoo users. Blendr was launched by Joel Simkhai CEO of Grindr in September 2011.

Website & features
Users must register with the site after which they create a personal profile. Users can register using a third-party log-in such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, VK.com or odnoklassniki.ru. Users may also create an account directly with Badoo.

Badoo is a freemium 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:

Ice Breaker
This feature offers example conversation starters for users who need a helping hand introducing themselves to other users.

Interests
Users can create a self-generated list of hobbies instead of pre-defined ones.

Anonymous Chat
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.

People Nearby
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.

Encounters
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.

Visitors
Users get to see who visited their profile.

Matches
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.

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:

Credits
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.

Rise Up
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.

SuperPowers
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.

Spotlight
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.

Favourites
A favourites list, as part of the Superpowers package, enables users to easily access profiles of people they like t o chat to. Users are also able to see who has added them to their favourites list.

Censorship & Blocked Countries
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.

Spam
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." . 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".

Fake Profiles
Badoo has been accused of generating fake profiles by harvesting information posted by users on other social networking sites, without these users consent. 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. 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. 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. 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’. .  Badoo’s Safety & Security policies were reviewed by John Carr, UK Government Advisor on Internet safety and security, in September 2011.

Opinions of Badoo.com on TrustPilot, 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. However opinion differs and many bloggers enjoy and recommend using the site. 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. 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. Badoo uses an intelligent algorithm that ensures users who are not behaving appropriately are tagged and prevented from contacting other users.

According to TopTenReviews 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.

Open source
Badoo has released several pieces of software under an open source licence, including various improvements to the PHP scripting language, the Pinba real time statistics server, and the Blitz template engine. Michelle Kennedy, Head of Legal for Badoo, was interviewed for The Lawyer magazine in September 2011 regarding open source material. Badoo has also opened a blog in the popular Russian community habrahabr and often publishes articles sharing best practices with the developer community.

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). --88.177.158.231 (talk) 22:20, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

WP:NPOV
There have been various edits to revert the page to reflect some strong feelings about Badoo. These edits are not in line with WP:NPOV which must be considered when editing.

Many of the sources used as citations for these views are old personal blogs or dated consumer complaints.

Badoo has faced criticism, that is indisputable, but it must be presented from a neutral point of view and weight given in accordance with the reliability of the source materials. Please see WP:RS.

Lucspook (talk) 07:20, 2 April 2014 (UTC)


 * I saw the edits you made today. I reverted them: please see the edit summary I provided. Good point about the blogs and whatnot, though. I therefore subsequently edited the page to remove some personal blogs and other apparent non-RSes and the article text which they were used to back. If you feel that the article still cites any non-RSes, please say so and send me a talkback template. If I correctly understand the WP:OR policy, your point cited to the Data Protection Commissioner website is OR and forbidden on Wikipedia. If you believe I incorrectly understand the policy, please say so. Cheers! —Unforgettableid (talk) 20:37, 2 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Just to address the Data Protection website reference for now, I have studied WP:NOR and the reference to the UK Data Protection Commission and this reference is not in breach. It is a primary source - that is true - and so should be treated with caution, without interpretation or analysis.
 * The UK Data Protection Commission is highly relevant in this context as they are the national data protection regulator and therefore regulates Badoo's data practice. There is no interpretation of the source, just a statement of fact.
 * "There have been no recorded complaints to the UK Data Protection Commissioner."


 * I will refer back to you on the other issues in due course.
 * Lucspook (talk) 14:27, 7 April 2014 (UTC)

Deceptive practices
I'm not sure we need to lead with the "deceptive practice" bit. After all, when I signed up for LinkedIn they pulled the same contact-scraping stuff, tricking me, an experienced computer programmer, into emailing my entire gmail address book. This sort of deception is not an uncommon thing. Gigs (talk) 16:29, 29 April 2014 (UTC)


 * I would like to second the concerns raised by Gigs. Before I do, I'd like to explain why I'm not editing the article directly myself.  I follow the "Bright Line" practice of not directly editing articles where I may be perceived to have a conflict of interest.  In this case,  I know Andrey Andreev socially sufficiently well that I wouldn't want to be perceived as acting inappropriately on behalf of a friend.


 * The current "controversial tactics" bit has two sources, neither of which strike me as sufficient to even include this claim, much less raise it to the level of the opening sentence. I think it is a disgrace that it used to say (for a sadly long time) 'deceptive practice' - a clearly non-neutral claim.  But even toned down, I think it is badly mistaken.


 * First, one of the sources is said to be (in the footnote) a comment on the Motherboard story! That's bad enough, but in fact, when I scroll to the bottom of the article, the comment seems to not exist at all.  I would imagine this is a no-brainer to remove.


 * Second, the Motherboard article is not a straight news piece by any means. It's a humorous commentary about the author's experience signing up for the service, written in a contentious style.  For example, "The deluge of real life Badoo spam on subway cars and giant billboards doesn’t just offer some indication of the company’s desperation: it hints of what happens on the Internet version too."  The word 'spam' is not normally applied to advertising in subway cars and billboards, at least not in a factual sense.  (It is applied that way in a condemnatory way, I suppose.)  And as the dramatic financial success of the company is explained later in the piece, there's nothing factual in the article to support the notion that the company is experiencing 'desperation'.  My point here is that we can't treat this article as a news report - it's commentary.


 * Having said that, the actual allegations in the article certainly don't support the adjective 'deceptive' nor do they support the idea that there is 'controversy'. It seems like the site asks you to link your Facebook, Google, Yahoo accounts (a standard practice these days) and that they ask to contact your friends (or do they really ask? - a factual story about that *would* to my mind justify the use of the word 'controversial').  The Motherboard piece does not seem to justify it, because the author cheerfully admits that he agreed to it.  In order to really justify discussing things, we'd need a better source - and we'd need a much better source or set of sources to justify elevating this to the lede.  (Facebook, MySpace, and many others sites have received complaints about viral marketing methods, but we don't put that into the lede for any of those.)  --Jimbo Wales (talk) 15:41, 30 April 2014 (UTC)


 * I gave the article a once-over removing a lot of poorly sourced controversy, as well as some redundancy, general copy-editing, slight promotion, etc. In the process I removed a source from The Economist that may have good information in it, but was poorly used to add quoted commentary. I find quotes are often used to add anecdotes and editorialized language from the source that would otherwise be seen as un-acceptable and un-encyclopedic.


 * I need to run (to a dentist appointment as it were) but one thing Jimbo mentions above I did not look into is the Motherboard story here. The author is called a "contributor" and on his Twitter he calls himself a "reporter" for Motherboard. If he is a professional reporter, he should be a reliable source. However, I have not read the whole article (it is a long read) or evaluated exactly how it is used on this page. CorporateM (Talk) 19:01, 1 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Dear all:


 * I thank you all for your comments. They contain many excellent points. Let me reply.


 * Many factual sources, such as The Economist, write about Badoo. But, as far as I can tell, Mr. Stuckey is one of a select few professional writers who has ever actually used Badoo. (There also exists a Badoo review by one Mr. Needleman. But this second reviewer resisted Badoo's entreaties for a copy of his Facebook contact list.) Perhaps the other professionals were too reluctant to sign up for a social network which got the lowest privacy score in a large peer-reviewed study. (Source: Telegraph Media Group citing Joseph Bonneau and Sören Preibusch. See here.)


 * True, Mr. Stuckey's Motherboard article isn't only factual: it also weaves in some of the author's personal opinions. However, we should still use it as a source for factual matters. When you give in to Badoo's supplications for a copy of your Facebook contact list, disaster ensues. Mr. Stuckey's article its the only professionally-published review I could find which even mentions what this disaster entails. (What does it entail? Well, see my comment to Gigs, below.)


 * Dear Mr. Wales: Surely you are unhappy that Wikipedia says unkind things about Mr. Andreev's company. Well, Mr. Andreev's company should try to be kinder to its users. If it does so, then reliable sources (and Wikipedians) will likely notice.


 * Dear Mr. Wales, and dear You both feel that we shouldn't mention Badoo's "deceptive practices" in the lead. Well, convincing users to email their entire address book is annoying enough. But emailing a lie to each contact (e.g. "Unforgettableid left you a message; join Badoo to read it")? This is far worse.


 * By the way: Dear I just want to be doubly sure that there's been neither any undisclosed COI editing nor undisclosed canvassing going on. So, just to verify, do you have any COI here? And, if I may ask, when did you first discover the existence of this article?


 * Kind regards, —Unforgettableid (talk) 00:37, 30 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Article came to my attention on Jimbo's Talk page. I don't think I had ever heard of Badoo previously. There is very rarely any legitimacy to canvassing accusations. They can be readily dismissed.
 * If a balanced Reception section can be written, a balanced sentence could be used to summarize it in the Lead. Despite the advice at WP:LEAD, in my experience whether Reception sections get summarized is often a bit of a tossup among editors.
 * It is true that sometimes very negative or very positive articles are representative of the sources, but in most cases these articles are not representative, but instead have been written by someone with a strong opinion, a COI, or something else. Therefore, in particular when such articles rely heavily on low-quality sources, they attract a high degree of skepticism. OTOH, when strong sources do in fact support a very strong lean in a certain direction, these articles need to be protected from false assumptions. CorporateM (Talk) 22:45, 7 July 2014 (UTC)
 * Unforgettableid, it's clear that you feel strongly that there is deception in its viral practices, but that doesn't mean it's one of the most important points of the company. In fact it might be more worthy of the lede that the site has been characterized as a "hook up" site for sex  something that isn't even really covered in the current article very well at all.  Gigs (talk) 14:44, 9 July 2014 (UTC)

Scam 2016
It appears that most of the editors who have commented here are no longer active on Wikipedia. So let's hit this again.

I was scammed into using Badoo. Ironically it was because I took a Greyhound bus home from WikiConference North America. The result was disastrous; I didn't realize they were able to access all of my information, etc., and the spam has been unbelievable. The FIRST thing I did when I got up this morning (to 12 emails from Badoo) was come to this article.

That they are spam and noted for deceptive practices should definitely be in the lede. Leaving this comment here for input. Thanks. JSFarman (talk) 14:05, 10 October 2016 (UTC)

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