Bumble Is Rolling Out a Major Change to One of Its Signature App Features
For nearly a decade, hopeful singles have been looking for love on popular dating app Bumble. Unlike other apps, Bumble has long distinguished itself by its unique requirement of women making the first move and messaging men first. But those days will soon be in the past.
Bumble has begun rolling out its new "opening moves" feature, which allows women to set a prompt for male suitors to respond to and break the ice in addition to the established option of the ladies messaging first. The move is part of a broader relaunch of the app announced April 30. That's not the only changes coming to the app: profiles will also have updated "dating intentions" badges for users to display upfront what they're looking for, whether it's a life partner or just a casual date. The app will also showcase common interests at the top of potential matches' profiles.
The move comes as dating apps see a steady decline in downloads in recent years and more singles gravitate toward in-person meetups rather than online dating. Company CEO Lidiane Jones told CNN that the brand is looking at capitalizing on the segment of the population that still relies on apps to meet people.
"We’re seeing a greater need for authentic human connections," Jones said. "I don’t anticipate that the number of people using online dating is going to go down, quite the opposite, but there is a higher bar… So we’re taking it as a great call to action to center ourselves on our mission."
With the door now open both ways to start chatting with someone, now might be the time to start looking for a summer romance.
