Photos

Bumble has been making big moves this year. First, in an effort to even the playing field, the app announced that male users must respond to women’s messages within 24 hours or they lose the match. CEO Whitney Wolfe also announced plans to take Bumble beyond dating into the world of business networking.

The company’s latest update is designed to prevent its users from falling prey to catfishers. How they intend to do it is the fun part.

Bumble’s new plan to outsmart scammers is a photo feature that prompts users to verify their accounts by submitting selfies. Yes, it’s 2016 and selfies are here to save us all.

Are you an online dating veteran, or new to the process? Regardless of your experience, it’s important to reconsider your strategy from time to time, no matter how seasoned you are with apps like Tinder or setting up a profile on Match.

We tend to approach online dating the same old way, but then we expect different results the next time around. If you really want to be successful with online dating, you have to be willing to try something new, test out different approaches, and see what works best for you. Easier said than done, but it’s true!

Following are five online dating mistakes to avoid now, if you want to see better results:

Nothing makes more of an impact on a prospective date than your profile picture (no, not even that incredibly witty joke it took you hours to write). You can have it all - from the great job to the adventures abroad - but an unflattering photo can score you a left swipe before anyone even makes it to the profile.

There’s a science to getting it right. Researchers have discovered all kinds of strange and hyper-specific facts about the perfect online dating photo (women who wear red, for example, are considered more attractive by men). But at the end of the day, few of us would be happy treating our love lives like laboratory experiments.

Dating needs to be more natural, more spontaneous, less calculated. The goal is somewhere between the extremes - a picture that’s flattering and thoughtful, but not engineered down to every detail. Avoid these four mistakes and you’ll be on your way to achieving the optimal balance.

Are you disappointed with online dating? Are your messages not getting responses, or are you just not getting enough matches?

You might wonder why you aren’t getting the kind of responses to your online dating profile that you imagined when you first signed up. Instead of wondering whether or not you picked the right service or app, a new study shows you might not be getting the results you want because of your profile and how trustworthy you seem to other online daters. In other words – do they actually believe what you have to say about yourself?

A new study published by Routledge takes a closer look at what we think of as our "idealized selves," which is what we project on our dating profiles. The researchers found that online daters are less trusting of people who post photos that appear too carefully crafted, preferring matches who appear more carefree and natural in their online dating photos as well as how they describe themselves.

Online dating can be daunting, whether you’ve done it off and on for years or it’s the first time you’re giving Tinder or OkCupid a try. It’s not for the faint of heart – so take courage in the fact that you are putting yourself out there to find love.

Unfortunately, no matter how much of a seasoned “pro” you think you might be, too many people make the same mistakes when it comes to online dating, and you might be one of them.

To optimize your profile and attract more matches to you requires some effort and savvy. Ask for help when you need it, and try to avoid these five online dating mistakes:

Alex Williamson knows a thing or two about dating. The 28-year-old joined the Bumble team a few months before launch, and is now the app’s director of creative marketing and brand copywriter. If you’ve seen Bumble’s viral response to a finance bro (also known as "The Connor Letter”), you’ve seen Williamson’s work.

Refinery29 recently sat down with Williamson to get an insider’s perspective on the online dating industry. She shared what she’s learned working behind the scenes at one of the world’s most popular dating apps, offering advice on how to write a bio, how to choose a profile picture, how to identify red flags, and more. Her top tips include: