The dating game is about to change in a big way for women.
It’s been a decade since Bumble opened the door to “women making the first move”, but now men are set to start conversations on the platform.
The app is rolling out a new feature called “opening moves” that will allow female users to approve which male suitors can strike up a chat.
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This means women no longer have to make the first move when they match on the app. When it first launched, it was claimed women were being given the power to have more control over their romantic liaisons.
The new feature is actually the part of a larger relaunch, which was only recently announced. Newly appointed CEO, Lidiane Jones, only took the reigns at the app earlier this year, and the changes come as young people are reported to becoming bored with online dating.
It’s said the move is being done in a bid to try and keep the platform current, and cater for what people want. People seem keen to spark in-person connections, and it’s having an impact on the dating game online.
Will people start swapping their phones for dating events and the potential of meet-cutes?
(Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We’re seeing a greater need for authentic human connections,” Jones told CNN. “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 centre ourselves on our mission.”
The “opening moves” is one way the app is changing, while ensuring women feel in control. Now they’ll simply have the option to continue chatting with people after allowing an opening move.
As well as this, there will also be a few other updates, including “dating intentions” badges that allow users to specify what they’re actually looking for. These could vary from “life partner” to “fun, casual dates”.
The app is also now asking users to add more snaps to their profiles. It will also highlight common interests at the top of potential matches’ profiles to try and set people up with more matchable partners.
Bumble, which also owns dating apps Badoo and Fruitz, reported a $1.9million (£1,514,186.00) net loss last year. Its share price also dropped by 86% from its initial public offering, which dates back to February 2021.
Wall Street analysts predict Bumble to share a $12million profit when it logs how it’s performed for the first three months of this year this month. The number of paying users who make use of the app are also expected to rise by 14% to over 3.9m.
Jones added: “We’re very fortunate to have very healthy financials to be able to invest in growth for the company, and still deliver profitability for our shareholders.
“We’re at a really great inflection point of, we have enough scale and we also have a lot of room to grow ahead, where we can balance both of those goals together.”
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