New York (CNN) — Ten years after creating a new model for dating apps with its “women make the first move” feature, Bumble is opening the door for men to initiate conversations on its platform.
Bumble will roll out a new feature called “opening moves” that will allow female users to post a message that male suitors can reply to to start a conversation. The feature reverses a long-standing requirement by the app that women send the first message to their matches, which Bumble claims gives women more power over their dates.
The new feature is part of a broader relaunch of the app announced Tuesday by new CEO Lidiane Jones, who took over from founder Whitney Wolfe Herd earlier this year. The change comes at a time when dating apps are struggling to stay relevant, as some singles have grown tired of online dating and are seeking more in-person contacts.
Jones sees Bumble’s redesign as a way to help the platform meet that need.
“We’re seeing an increased need for authentic human connections,” Jones told CNN in a pre-launch interview. “I don’t foresee that the number of people who resort to online dating will go down, quite the opposite, but there is a greater demand (…) So we are taking it as a great call to action to focus on our mission”.
The new feature is one of the ways Jones says Bumble is evolving while staying true to its original mission of empowering women. Now, users will have the option to continue initiating conversations with their partners or to establish a first form of contact, for example, a question about a potential partner’s dream dinner guest, which would indicate that they want their partner to get in touch first. (For non-binary users or those seeking a same-sex partner, either person can set and respond to an “opening move.”)
Bumble’s relaunch also includes updated “dating intentions” badges that allow users to indicate on their profiles whether they are looking for, for example, a “life partner” or just “fun, casual dates.” Bumble is also now requiring users to include more photos in their bios. Additionally, the app will highlight common interests at the top of potential matches’ profiles, in an effort to connect people with more compatible people.
As part of the app’s relaunch, Bumble is adding updated “dating intentions” tags and additional profile photos. Credit: Bumble
The changes could be key to returning Bumble, which also owns dating apps Badoo and Fruitz, to profitability after posting a net loss of $1.9 million last year. The company’s stock price has also plunged 86% since its initial public offering in February 2021.
Wall Street analysts expect Bumble to post a profit of $12 million when it reports its results for the first three months of this year on May 8, down from a loss of $2.3 million during the same quarter a year ago. . The company’s number of paying users is also expected to increase 14% to more than $3.9 million.
“We are fortunate to have a very healthy financial situation that allows us to invest in the growth of the company and continue to offer profitability to our shareholders,” said Jones. “We are at a big inflection point: we have enough scale and plenty of room to grow, and we can balance both objectives.”
