Bumble Banned Mirror Selfies And Other Awful Dating Photos
Contributed by: ElyseRomano on Thursday, November 17 2016 @ 06:55 am
Last modified on Wednesday, May 24 2023 @ 11:28 am
Think about your least favorite photos on dating profiles. There’s the group shot where it’s impossible to tell who the subject is supposed to be. There’s the picture of a pet or an inanimate object that doesn’t include the subject at all. There’s the unsolicited dick pic sent in messages.
And there’s the shirtless mirror selfie. It’s not only the butt of countless Internet jokes, it’s also the most left-swiped profile picture on Bumble. A full 86% of reported profiles on Bumble include mirror selfie photos. It got the Bumble team thinking…
If they’re not enriching the dating app experience, why allow them at all?
In a blog post[*1] published on October 7, Bumble announced the ban heard round the world: no more mirror selfies.
The company has officially introduced a number of new photo guidelines in an effort to ensure Bumble remains what it was always intended to be: a safe, friendly place to meet new people. The rest of the rules include:
- No kids on their own. Any picture featuring a child must also include an adult. “We don’t allow kids to represent their parents on Bumble,” reads the blog post. It makes sense: the child didn’t agree to join a dating app. Keeping their photo off the Internet limits their exposure to potential predators and respects their right to privacy.
- Bikinis and other swimwear are totally cool, as long as you’re somewhere you’d actually swim (the beach, the pool). If you’re indoors, clothing is required. No one wears a swimsuit around the house, and a bikini can look too similar to underwear.
- No underwear. Bumble recognizes that it’s your right to date however you want - including by sharing striped-down photos - but the new guidelines ask that pictures in underwear be sent in private messages, not be used in public profiles.
- No watermarks or text overlaid. This isn’t Snapchat. Bumble has a selection of custom filters to show off your personality - adding your own text on top of that diminishs the quality of the photo.
- Your face must be clearly visible. In real life, you don’t approach strangers if you haven’t seen their face. The same goes for Bumble. ”Eyes are the window to your soul,” says the blog. “Make sure people can see yours.
Lest you think there’s unfair gender bias in the new rules, Bumble is careful to note that the bans apply to both women and men. Overall, Bumble hopes the changes will help the app feel more like IRL social spaces and encourage the good manners that come along with in-person interactions.
Reactions to the bold new rules have been swift and positive. Mashable[*2] boasted that, with the update, Bumble “immediately becomes [the] best dating app.” Hello Giggles shared a similar sentiment, calling it “the raddest dating app” for “making our dating lives exponentially less gross every day.”
However, it’s easy to imagine the angry complaints rolling in. Bumble claims it’s not trying to be the “prude police” with the new photo guidelines, but who is Bumble to judge? Why shouldn’t users be allowed to post whatever dumb pictures they want, provided they meet basic standards like “no erotic content” and “the picture must actually be you”?
Stay tuned to see whether praise or condemnation wins out in the end.