Earlier this year, Bumble’s new CEO Lidiane Jones said in a Fortune interview that Bumble rethought women making the first move – the dating app’s signature for its tenth anniversary. Today, Bumble officially announced First Move updates, as well as additional feature enhancements and a new brand identity.
Since Bumble’s inception in 2014, only women have been able to message matches first. For same-sex unions, anyone could send a message first. In 2022 Bumble announced that non-binary users can also take the first step.
Dating culture has become selfish. How do we fix the problem?
Bumble opening moves
Now Opening Moves is Bumble’s “evolution” of this concept. Female users have the option to set a question for their matches to answer, either from Bumble’s recommended options or by writing a question of their own. Non-binary users and those seeking same-sex connections can also set and respond to an opening move. Otherwise, men seeking women won’t be able to set an opening move, Bumble told Mashable.
Bumble’s new opening motion feature.
Photo credit: Bumble
In Bumble’s press release, Jones cited how tiring online dating may be a reason for this function. “Many have listened to our community and expressed their exhaustion with the current online dating experience, and for some, that includes making the first move,” Jones said. “We’re also hearing from women that empowerment today is not just about control, but also about choice, and we’re excited to offer more choice in the way women do that with our new Opening Moves feature take the first step.”
New Bumble profile changes
Bumble is rolling out other changes and updates to profiles in addition to Opening Moves. For one thing, the app updated its logo, font, and colors.
The app also expands the Dating Intentions badges. Dara Alsulayman, senior product manager at Bumble, explained in a demo video shared with Mashable: “We’ve heard a lot from our members that misalignment of dating intentions is one of the biggest pain points, and we believe this applies to dating “Some people think that dating intentions on apps are rigid, so Bumble has added more options and the ability to to capture two intentions,” Alsulayman continued.
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Previously, users could indicate in their profile whether they were looking for a relationship or something casual, Marriage or “I don’t know yet.” Now users have more options:
Bumble’s expanded dating intentions.
Photo credit: Bumble
Bumble has also updated its interface in terms of the look of Interests, Values, and Concerns. Well, common interests (and Spotify artist) are located at the top of the profiles. Concerns and communities also have their own section in the profiles.
The app has taken a page from Hinge and additional prompts to profiles to show personality – although they are optional on Bumble.
Previously, Bumble required all users to upload two photos. Now there are four. Alsulayman cited the finding that the more photos a user has on their profile, the more successful they are at “finding meaningful connections.”
Bumble too Tick tock-ified Best Bees, a page of curated profiles based on your swipes and preferences. Now called Best Bees For You. Alsulayman said Bumble updated its algorithm to take member feedback into account.
Considering how much dating and the app space has changed in the last decade, these changes aren’t a huge surprise. In the demo video, Alsulayman said the team believes these features “start a new chapter in the evolution of Bumble.”