Since its launch in 2014, dating app Bumble has featured female users “making the first move,” meaning only female users can message male matches first, and within 24 hours of matching. Over the years, however, the concept has eroded somewhat.
For example, things are always tricky for LGBTQ users. Apparently, women can message other women first, and men must message other men first. Then in 2022, Bumble added more gender options, which begged the question: Can non-binary people message first, or can it only be women? It turns out that Bumble allows non-binary users to message first.
Now, two years later, Bumble’s new CEO Lidiane Jones tells Fortune magazine that she’s rethinking women’s first steps on the app. Jones succeeds Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd as CEO, who resigned earlier this year.
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“Female-first matching” is obviously our hallmark, Jones told Fortune, “but it feels like a burden to some of our customers today.”
Mix and match after dark
Apparently this reconsideration started under Wolfe Herd, and Bumble is currently testing different options for a relaunch later this year. According to Fortune, one option is to provide women with pre-written messages; AI-generated icebreaker games are already appearing on Bumble for Friends, a platonic version of Bumble. Another option is to allow men to message first.
If Bumble removes “Women Making First Steps,” it would be a big change for the decade-old app, but some users might see it as a relief.
Mashable has reached out to Bumble for comment.
