About POP!

POP! is INQUIRER.net’s premier pop culture channel, delivering the latest news in the realm of pop culture, internet culture, social issues, and everything fun, weird, and wired. It is also home to POP! Sessions and POP! Hangout,
OG online entertainment programs in the
Philippines (streaming since 2015).

As the go-to destination for all things ‘in the now’, POP! features and curates the best relevant content for its young audience. It is also a strong advocate of fairness and truth in storytelling.

POP! is operated by INQUIRER.net’s award-winning native advertising team, BrandRoom.

Contact Us

Email us at [email protected]

Address

MRP Building, Mola Corner Pasong Tirad Streets, Brgy La Paz, Makati City

Girl in a jacket

From ‘UPdate’ to ‘Ateneut,’ is this a battle of dating sites?

Recently, the internet has been overflowing with massive hype and school spirit from two competing universities—the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University.

Now the “Battle of Katipunan” has definitely gone a little further after two local dating apps came out amidst the intense basketball competition.

Last month, the University of the Philippines launched “UPdate,” a dating app made exclusively for the student body. Developed by UPboiz, the app’s main objective is for everyone to build “meaningful relationships” with each other.

Although students may be required to enter their school e-mail address when creating their profiles, the said app is not affiliated with the university.

And a few days after the official launch of “UPdate,” a new dating website was born on November 28, with a name that sounds like a Katipunan-based university. The new dating service called Ateneut has a user interface that looks like Facebook and Tinder.

The dating app’s logo bears a resemblance to Tinder while its functions are similar to Facebook. Just like any other social media apps out there, creating an account on Ateneut is as easy as ABC: sign-up, add a friend, then start chatting.

Ateneut also lets users enter chat rooms, plan events, and engage in online discussions. Aside from that, it also enables users to monitor their encounters and matches.

Though it wasn’t clear who the exact developer is, a news source reported that it was developed by Harry Christian, a creative designer from Engagis Creatives who is also studying at Xavier University—Ateneo de Cagayan.

Apparently, Twitter users couldn’t help but ask their respective universities to “keep up.”

And name proposals for their school’s app:

Since a lot of users have been complaining about it, the app is currently undergoing a server upgrade. And according to the app’s official Twitter page, Ateneut has yet to be launched in Google Play Store and Apple Store.

_____

Read more from InqPOP!: 

Online customer agents can see what you’re typing even before you hit that ‘send’ button

Here’s how Instagram’s AI will back down bullies

Spotify artists get notifications when you add them to your ‘questionable’ playlists

Samsung sues brand ambassador after she’s caught using an iPhone

About Author

Related Stories

Popping on POP!