comScore has released data from its MobiLens service, showing that young adult males factor prominently in the increase in Europeans accessing dating sites on their mobile phones. Of the nearly 11m users accessing mobile dating services each month, 22 per cent are males between the ages of 25-34 years old, compared to just 8.7 per cent of females in the same age group. The June 2010 data from comScore shows that, across Europe, there has been a 52 per cent increase in mobile access to dating sites since June 2009.

Italians are the most active in looking for love on their mobile devices, with 7.1 per cent of users (3.3m) accessing dating services each month. The Spanish come in second with 6.1 per cent (2.1m users), followed by Germans with 3.9 per cent (2.1m) and the French with 3.6 per cent (1.7m). The UK ranks fifth with just 3.5 per cent (1.7m users), engaging with dating services via mobile.

SMS is the most popular method of accessing mobile dating sites, with 5.6m users in June, ranking just above access via browser with 5.4m users. Usage of apps for mobile dating is on the rise, with 1.8m mobile users in June, up 71 per cent in the past year.

“Many Europeans have turned to their phones to help find love this summer,” says comScore European VP mobile, Jeremy Copp. “What’s surprising is how heavily skewed the sites’ audiences are to younger males, which creates a challenge for the category to attract more females and increase the possibility of a positive match. Combined with the prevalence of the SMS as a tool for engaging with dating services and the relative small usage of mobile dating apps, these data illustrate the importance in knowing who your audience is and how they use your services.”