Bumble may treat female users differently when the dating app reopens later this year.
Bumble, which has a new CEO named LyDiane Jones, maybe ditching the features that set it apart from its competitors. During the company's fourth-quarter earnings call, Jones told investors she was no longer sure about women making the "first move" at Bumble.
“It appears to be a burden for some of our customers today,” Jones said on a conference call.
Since founding Whitney Wolfe Herd in 2014, the app has prided itself on its women-centric mission. There was talk of doing away with the feature under Wolf Herd, but when Jones took office in November, he started moving things forward.
Bumble is currently testing new ways for users to connect without requiring women to message them first
and plans to relaunch in the second quarter of 2024. Possible changes could include allowing men to message and giving women the option to select a pre-written greeting.
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Bumble - Bumble's founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd
Underscoring the competitive landscape of modern dating apps, Bumble is considering changes as the companies behind it continue to test new payment systems and features to entice people to choose the product, such as offering more expensive tiers.
Bumble cut 350 jobs in late February as part of a series of moves aimed at "transforming our business and accelerating our roadmap," Jones said in a statement earlier. At the same time, he started building an admin team at Bump made up of people he once worked with at Slack.
Meanwhile, people who once relied on dating apps are flooding social media with complaints and stories of their profiles being deleted. Some have looked for alternatives, such as writing Date Me Google Docs.
One user told Business Insider that Bumble was originally a great Tinder alternative that was overrated by those looking to hook up.
A Bumble spokesperson told BI that more details about the relaunch are expected in the coming months.
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