Bumble
TypePublic
Nasdaq: BMBL
Founded2014
FounderWhitney Wolfe Herd
Headquarters
Austin, Texas
,
United States
Key people
Lidiane Jones (CEO)
ProductsInternet dating app, website
BrandsBadoo
RevenueIncrease US$0.9bn[1] (2022)
Decrease US$−103 million[1] (2022)
Decrease US$- 114 million[1] (2022)
Total assetsDecrease US$3.69 bn[1] (2022)
Total equityDecrease US$3.69 bn[1] (2022)
Number of employees
Increase 950[1] (2022)
ParentBumble Inc.
Websitebumble.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Bumble is an online dating and networking application launched in 2014. Profiles of potential matches are displayed to users, who can "swipe left" to reject a candidate or "swipe right" to indicate interest. In heterosexual matches, only female users can make the first contact with matched male users, while in homosexual matches either person can send a message first.[2][3] The app is a product of Bumble Inc.

Bumble was founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd shortly after she left Tinder. Wolfe Herd has described Bumble as a "feminist dating app".[4] As of January 2021, with a monthly user base of 42 million,[5] Bumble is the second-most popular dating app in the U.S. after Tinder.[6] According to a June 2016 survey, 46.2% of its users are female.[7] According to Forbes, by 2017 the company was valued at more than $1 billion, and the company reported having over 55 million users in 150 countries as of 2019.[8][9]

History

Whitney Wolfe Herd, an early VP of Marketing of Tinder, founded Bumble shortly after leaving Tinder.[10] Wolfe Herd sued Tinder for sexual discrimination and harassment and settled for just over $1 million in September 2014.[10] Amidst the media attention surrounding the lawsuit, acquaintance and Badoo founder and CEO Andrey Andreev contacted Wolfe Herd via email, and the two met up.[11] Andreev suggested she get back into the dating space, and the pair eventually formed a partnership in which Andreev would receive 79% ownership in the company following an initial investment of $10 million along with additional investments and Wolfe Herd would serve as founder, CEO and 20% owner. As part of the agreement, the new company would also utilize Badoo's infrastructure and Andreev's consulting.[8] After the partnership was established, the pair recruited fellow Tinder departees Chris Gulczynski and Sarah Mick to design the interface and help launch Bumble.[11] Bumble was launched three months later in December 2014.[12]

In March 2016, Bumble released BFF mode as a way for users to find platonic friends. After switching into the mode, the app replaces potential dates with people of the user's same sex who are also looking for friends.[13] In June 2016, Bumble announced a partnership with Spotify that would allow users to connect a Spotify account to their profile to show their music interests.[14] In March 2017, the company announced its plan to launch a career networking app, Bumble Bizz.[15] In August 2017, Bumble partnered with the Anti-Defamation League in an effort to remove users who display hate symbols in their profiles.[16][17] In October 2017, the company launched Bumble Bizz which also uses a woman-first interface.[8]

The company was valued at more than $1 billion in November 2017.[8] When private equity firm The Blackstone Group purchased a majority stake in Bumble's parent company MagicLab, Bumble and its sister apps were valued at $3 billion.[18] Bumble and its sister apps earned $162 million in net revenue for 2018.[18] In April 2019, Bumble launched its own lifestyle magazine called Bumble Mag.[19][20] In 2020, MagicLab was renamed Bumble as the parent company of both Bumble and Badoo.[21] As of 2020, Bumble has over 100 million users worldwide.[21]

The company headquarters are in Austin, Texas and, as of 2021, had 650 employees globally.[22]

In February 2021, Bumble raised $2.2 billion through its IPO and the company had a valuation of over $7 billion.[23] Bumble was listed on the Nasdaq exchange, with shares initially valued at $43 but increasing to $76 on its opening day, valuing the company at more than $13 billion.[24][25] By November 2021, the company's shares had fallen by 20% after a quarterly earnings report which posited a decline in user growth, and users prepared to pay for its premium features.[26]

In February 2022, Bumble announced it had acquired Fruitz - a French-owned freemium dating app popular with Gen Z and used across Europe.[27] This was the company's first acquisition.[28] Starting from April 2022, Bumble users who report abuse are eligible for a collection of free courses from Bloom, an online provider of support for assault survivors.[29]

By November 2023, its fourth-quarter earnings showed that inflation and growing competition with Tinder had reduced user spending on its app's paid features.[30] The news coincided with its founder and CEO Whitney Wolf-Herd stepping down and Slack's chief executive Lidiane Jones replacing her.[31]

Operation

Formerly, Bumble users were required to log in via Facebook when signing up. In April 2018, Bumble added an option to sign up using only a phone number, following Facebook's involvement in a controversy with Cambridge Analytica.[32] For users who sign up with Facebook, information from their account is used to build a profile with photos and basic information, including the user's college and job.[33]

Users swipe right to "like" a potential match and left to reject them.[34] In matches between a man and a woman, the woman must initiate the conversation with their matches or the matches disappear within 24 hours; either person in a same-sex match can reach out.[33] In 2018, The Daily Dot criticized Bumble for lacking options for users to identify as genderqueer or transgender, in contrast to competitors OkCupid and Tinder.[35] The app later introduced a wider range of gender identity options.[36]

Bumble released a "backtrack" feature in 2015 that allows users to undo accidental left swipes by shaking their phones. Three free "backtracks" are provided initially, which are replenished every three hours. Users have the option to immediately receive a new set of three backtracks by sharing Bumble on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, although they are limited to one of these refills per day.[37][38] The app has features allowing the user to favorite conversations, sort conversations and send photo messages.[34][39] A "snooze" feature was added in September 2018, to allow users to pause activity and avoid using the app for a period of time.[40]

BFF mode uses the same swipe right or left platform as the app's dating mode and requires that a conversation is started within 24 hours of matching with a potential friend. Conversations started with potential friends are color-coded as green as opposed to yellow for dates. As the feature was rolled out, Bumble also announced that it would eventually release a dual-profile feature allowing users to curate a profile for dating or friendship.[41][42] In April 2016, the Bumble app was updated to combat ghosting. As part of the update, if a user is messaged after matching with a potential partner and does not respond within 24 hours, the match disappears.[43] Before the update, men were allowed unlimited time to respond to a message from women. An update was also launched for same-sex matches, with either party allowed to initiate and the other having to respond within 24 hours.[44]

Bumble launched a photo verification tool in September 2016 to ensure that users of the app were the same people in their profile pictures. To be verified, users are asked to submit a selfie of them performing a specific pose; the picture is reviewed by a real person who ensures the user is the person in the profile pictures.[45] Bumble was the first dating app to include photo verification in the US.[46]

In June 2019, Bumble announced that it would be enabling in-app voice and video calls on all of its platforms, including Bumble, Bumble Bizz and Bumble BFF. Users must match first before initiating a call.[47]

Bumble's vice president of strategy reported "an 84 percent increase in video calls that were placed between users" during the coronavirus pandemic.[48]

In 2020, Bumble announced that the users can now expand their distance filters to match with anyone in the country. Previously, the app only allowed people to connect within a 100-mile (160 km) range. Daters can add a "virtual dating" badge to their profile to indicate that they are willing to date over video calls.[49]

On January 15, 2021, Bumble temporarily suspended the option to filter matches by political preference in order to "prevent misuse". The move came after several women allegedly used Bumble to gather information from people who had stormed the United States Capitol, then forwarded that information to the FBI. Bumble was criticized by many of its users for being perceived to "protect terrorists" by suspending the filter.[50] Bumble announced that it would be reinstating the option to filter by political preferences later that day.[51]

In August 2016, Bumble announced the release of its paid service, Bumble Boost, which includes three premium features.[52] These features included Beeline, a list of users who have liked the user; Rematch, which keeps expired matches in a user's queue for 24 additional hours; and Busy Bee, which allows users unlimited 24-hour extensions for matches.[53][54]

A further premium feature is the ability to purchase "Coins" which allow "SuperSwipes", whereby a user can like another user and the recipient of the like will be notified of the interest. One coin allows one SuperSwipe.[55]

Users

Bumble had a reported 40 million users as of February 2021,[56] and 27 million downloads as of February 2018.[57] As of September 2019, Bumble was the second most popular dating app in the U.S., with a monthly user base of 5 million.[6]

An April 2016 report by SurveyMonkey stated that 49% of users went on the app daily, and 46.2% of users were female.[7] Wolfe Herd has stated that within the app's first eight months it saw 5 million unique conversations initiated, all by women.[58] In April 2018, Bumble reported that 85% of users were "looking for marriage or a boyfriend/girlfriend", while 4% of men and under 1% of women were "looking for a hookup". They also reported that 25% of users had gone on a first date with someone they found on the app within the previous month.[59]

Bumble has also reported that its users spend an average of 62 minutes on the app daily.[60] In October 2016, the app launched new photo moderation rules that banned mirror selfies, obscured faces, and photos of users in underwear among others.[61] According to The New York Times, as of March 2017, Bumble had more than 800 million matches and 10 billion swipes per month and is the second most popular Lifestyle app in the iOS App Store.[15]

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bumble reported a 10.9% increase in monthly active users in the final quarter of 2020.[62]

As part of their IPO filing, Bumble announced in January 2021 that they had 2.4 million paying users.[5]

Reception

Feminist label

Bumble has been considered as a "feminist Tinder".[63][64] Its founder has confirmed this identity, calling the app "100 percent feminist," although she has attempted to distance the app from Tinder in interviews.[60][4] Wolfe Herd shared in an interview with Vanity Fair the concept behind the app: "If you look at where we are in the current heteronormative rules surrounding dating, the unwritten rule puts the woman a peg under the man—the man feels the pressure to go first in a conversation, and the woman feels pressure to sit on her hands... If we can take some of the pressure off the man and put some of that encouragement in the woman's lap, I think we are taking a step in the right direction, especially in terms of really being true to feminism. I think we are the first feminist, or first attempt at a feminist dating app."[60]

In June 2016, Bumble posted an open letter to its blog and blocked a user for sexist behavior after he had an outburst at a female user who asked him what he did for a living.[65][66]

Reviews

Bumble has had mixed reviews. Reviewers have commented that "the time limit [for communications to be initiated by the woman] is really off-putting", and that "Bumble's incessant push notifications are worded just dramatically enough as to be anxiety inducing."[67][68]

Lawsuits

Bumble has also been criticized for not offering to refund purchases, even those made by mistake. Bumble was sued for not offering refunds of purchases, despite offering a cancel button. The lawsuit is Schlossberg v. Bumble Trading Inc, et al., case No. 1:18-cv-08376, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.[69]

In 2020, Bumble agreed to pay $22.5 million in a settlement over plaintiffs' claims that the company's auto-renewal processes were unfair. The class action lawsuit, filed in California, said Bumble charged consumers without their consent. Bumble admitted no wrongdoing in the case.[70]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Bumble Inc. Annual Report 2022" (PDF). Bumble. May 30, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Can Gay Men Use Bumble – The New Dating App?". The Rocky Safari. December 2, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Bumble Is Exactly Like Tinder Except Girls Are In Charge". TechCrunch. December 2, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Whitney Wolfe Wants to Beat Tinder at Its Own Game". Time. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Akhtar, Allana. "Bumble just publicly filed for an IPO, revealing 42 million monthly users". Business Insider. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "U.S. dating apps by audience size 2019". Statista.
  7. 1 2 McAlone, Nathan (June 2, 2016). "These are the dating apps that have the highest percentage of women". Business Insider. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 4 O'Connor, Clare (November 14, 2017). "Billion-Dollar Bumble: How Whitney Wolfe Herd Built America's Fastest-Growing Dating App". Forbes.
  9. ↑ Gross, Elana Lyn (May 10, 2019). "Bumble Launched A New Initiative To Support A Cause Whenever A Woman Makes The First Move". Forbes.
  10. 1 2 "Report: Ousted Tinder Cofounder Settled Her Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against The Company For 'Just Over $1 Million'". Business Insider. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  11. 1 2 "What It's Like To Found A $750 Million Startup, Go Through A Sexual-Harassment Lawsuit, And Start All Over By Age 25". Business Insider. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Bumble is a dating app where women take lead". The Star. April 28, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Bumble Now Lets You Switch to BFF Mode to Find Real Friends, Not Just Friends With Benefits". March 6, 2016.
  14. ↑ Farber, Madeline (June 16, 2016). "Spotify and Bumble Are Eliminating This Awkward Dating Question". Fortune. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  15. 1 2 Jessica Bennett (March 18, 2017). "With Her Dating App, Women Are in Control". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Bumble dating app joins forces with ADL to 'ban all forms of hate'". August 17, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Bumble Joins ADL To Ban Hate On Date Site". The Forward. August 18, 2017.
  18. 1 2 Ruth Reader, Dating app Bumble and its sister apps are now worth $3 billion, Fast Company (November 8, 2019).
  19. ↑ "Austin-based Bumble buzzes into publishing biz with glossy new magazine". Culture Map Austin. April 4, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Bumble goes to print with its new lifestyle magazine, Bumble Mag". Tech Crunch. April 4, 2019.
  21. 1 2 LaPorte, Nicole (July 15, 2020). "Bumble hits 100 million users—and has new plans to take over the dating world". Fast Company.
  22. ↑ "Bumble boosts its IPO price on path to raising $1.8B". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  23. ↑ Subin, Samantha (February 11, 2021). "Bumble IPO: The female founder behind the dating app making market history". CNBC. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Bumble: Female-founded dating app tops $13bn in market debut". BBC News. February 11, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  25. ↑ Kruppa, Miles; Murphy, Hannah (February 11, 2021). "Bumble valued at $13bn as investors fall in love with dating app". Financial Times. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  26. ↑ McEvoy, Jemima (November 21, 2021). "Bumble Hits A Speed Bump—Why The Dating App's Shares Are At A Low Since Its Buzzy IPO". Forbes. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Dating App Owner Bumble Buys France's Fruitz In First Acquisition". Minutehack. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Dating app owner Bumble buys France's Fruitz in first acquisition". Reuters. February 7, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  29. ↑ II, Moises Mendez (April 25, 2022). "Bumble is offering free trauma support for sexual assault victims". Fast Company. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  30. ↑ Saini, Manya (August 8, 2023). "Bumble declines as higher expenses fan concerns about Tinder competition". Reuters. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  31. ↑ Singh, Jaspreet (November 8, 2023). "Bumble forecasts weak fourth-quarter revenue, shares fall". Reuters. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  32. ↑ Seppala, Timothy J. (April 16, 2018). "You don't need a Facebook account to use Bumble". Engadget. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  33. 1 2 "Bumble Is Exactly Like Tinder Except Girls Are In Charge". Techcrunch. December 2, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  34. 1 2 "Bumble: The Feminist Tinder? Women Reach Out First Within 24 Hours". Ibi Times. March 25, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  35. ↑ Hubby, Kristen (February 19, 2018). "Is Bumble really better than Tinder?". The Daily Dot. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  36. ↑ "Here Are Bumble's Inclusive Gender Identity Options". Bumble Trading Inc. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Bumble's New Backtrack Feature Lets You Take Back Accidental Left Swipes". Techcrunch. March 11, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  38. ↑ "I spent a week using five of the most popular dating apps — here's the one I unexpectedly liked the most". Business Insider. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Bumble, The Sadie Hawkins Of Dating Apps, Introduces Direct Photo Messaging". Tech Crunch. February 6, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  40. ↑ Hinchliffe, Emma (September 6, 2018). "Bumble Adds Snooze Feature: 'We Aren't Scared of Damaging Our Bottom Line'". Fortune. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  41. ↑ "I Tried to Find a New BFF on Bumble and Found Something Better". Mashable.com. March 17, 2016.
  42. ↑ "Bumble Launches BFF, A Feature to Find New Friends". Techcrunch.com. March 4, 2016.
  43. ↑ McGoogan, Cara (April 13, 2016). "Tinder Rival Bumble Blocks Despicable 'Ghosting' By Making Users Reply Within 24 Hours". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022.
  44. ↑ "Dating App Bumble Just Changed for Men in a Major Way". Mashable.com. April 25, 2016.
  45. ↑ "Bumble Will Soon Let Users Get Verified in an Effort to Squash Impersonators". Techcrunch.com. September 22, 2016.
  46. ↑ "Bumble Wants to Keep You From Being Catfished, Launches New Selfie Verification Tool". Digitaltrends.com. September 23, 2016.
  47. ↑ "Bumble now lets you call your matches without exchanging numbers". Social.techcrunch.com. June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  48. ↑ Ashley Carman, Virtual dating is booming, but daters say it’s not enough, The Verge (July 15, 2020).
  49. ↑ Carman, Ashley (April 14, 2020). "Bumble now lets people match with anyone in their country". The Verge. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  50. ↑ Dillon, Nancy (January 15, 2021). "Dating app Bumble suspends political filter after women allegedly used it to report Capitol rioters to FBI". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  51. ↑ Bote, Joshua (January 15, 2021). "Bumble reinstates political views filter after women reported Capitol rioters on the app to FBI". SFGATE. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  52. ↑ "Bumble Boost, Bumble's New Paid Features, Lets You Match With People Without Swiping". Bustle.com. August 24, 2016.
  53. ↑ "Bumble is Adding Paid Features to Help Find Your Perfect Match". Engadget.com. August 15, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Bumble is Finally Monetizing With Paid Features to Better Help You Find a Match". Techcrunch.com. August 15, 2016.
  55. ↑ "Help". Bumble.com. February 2, 2019.
  56. ↑ Tepper, Taylor (February 12, 2021). "Bumble IPO: Is It Worth The Buzz?". Forbes.com. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  57. ↑ "How Whitney Wolfe Herd Changed the Dating Game". Texas Monthly. February 2018.
  58. ↑ "How apps like Bumble and Hinge are making dating better for women". Market Watch. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  59. ↑ Vitto, Laura (April 23, 2018). "Bumble is out to prove it's definitely not a hookup app". Mashable. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  60. 1 2 3 "Meet the Tinder Co-Founder Trying to Change Online Dating Forever". Vanity Fair. August 7, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  61. ↑ Scott, Ellen (October 8, 2016). "Bumble Has Officially Banned Mirror Selfies and Underwear Photos". Metro. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  62. ↑ Wu, Yan (February 13, 2021). "Tinder, Bumble and Hinge Show Surge in Americans Looking for Love Online". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  63. ↑ "'Bumble' Dating App Is Essentially Feminist Tinder, And Here's Why You Should Download It". Bustle. March 26, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  64. ↑ "Meet the 25-year-old woman who made a 'feminist Tinder'". Hello Giggles. March 26, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  65. ↑ Hatch, Jenavieve (June 9, 2016). "Dating App Defends Woman Who Dared Ask Man About His Career". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  66. ↑ Belanger, Lydia (June 10, 2016). "Why Bumble's Anti-Bullying Open Letter to a Male User is Totally on Brand". Entrepreneur. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  67. ↑ "I tried 'feminist Tinder' and all I got was a bunch of weird push alerts". Fusion. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  68. ↑ "Bumble Dating App Lets Women Make the First Move". iPhone Life. October 16, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  69. ↑ "Bumble class action lawsuit". top class actions. September 17, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  70. ↑ "Judge OKs $22.5M Bumble Auto-Renewal Class Action Settlement". Top Class Actions. July 17, 2020.
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