Bumble Inc

How to use BumbleVID

Do you think a few photos provide enough information to determine whether or not someone is a good match? The makers of dating app Bumble think they aren't, and that video can help.

The popular female-centric dating app will soon release BumbleVID, which will allow users to create a video "story" with unlimited 10-second videos, which will each delete after 24 hours. According to Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe, the video feature was inspired by Snapchat.

To make sure the videos are current, Bumble asks users to record their 10-second features within the app, which then posts to their profiles. If someone wants to use a pre-recorded video from their phone or another source, it has to have been recorded within the last 24 hours. These videos will also be marked with a tag saying they weren’t posted “live.” The new BumbleVID feature also lets users send their videos to specific matches.

Bumble made it easy to swipe for dates. With BumbleBFF, it also made it easy to swipe for friends. Now, with the launch of BumbleBizz this past summer, the app hopes to work its magic on the job market.

Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe told the Observer that BumbleBizz will be “the hyper-local version of LinkedIn, but with really clear connections versus missed opportunities.”

The format is familiar to anyone who has used Bumble or BumbleBFF (or really any other swipe-based dating app). Users can create a separate BumbleBizz profile and indicate preferences like location and industries of interest. The same swiping mechanism is used to make matches, except in this case, those matches are potential connections and mentors for on-demand networking. And, as is famously the case for the dating app, female users have to make the first move.

It’s election season, and one thing is certain: there are different attitudes, habits, and priorities among people living in different regions of the United States. But it's not just about politics - some regional differences hold up in other parts of life, including dating habits and preferences.

Online dating service Badoo recently surveyed 1,000 of its users across different regions of the U.S. to compare and contrast their dating habits, taking into consideration age, gender and sexuality.

Some of the findings include:

Let’s face it, the U.S. election was a polarizing event, and now that it’s over, people in both camps are weary of those in the other. This can make two strangers who meet via a dating app hesitant about each other. Should they talk politics or not? Will political party allegiance be a factor in whether or not the relationship moves forward?

More and more daters are wondering where their dates stand politically than ever before. For many, it’s not about playing politics, but about connecting over shared values. Conservatives and Democrats are very divided in what’s most important on a more personal level, so much so that it can affect romantic relationships.

Bumble stands with Planned Parenthood. The woman-centric, feminist-leaning dating app led by Whitney Wolfe raised $28,747 for the nonprofit organization by harnessing the power of Instagram.

On Friday October 21, Bumble posted an image to the social network that said: “For every like this post gets, Bumble will donate a dollar to Planned Parenthood.” In the caption, the company was careful to note that it wasn’t “a political post.”

“Our team is a mixing pot, some of us are republicans, some are democrats, some are independents, and some aren’t even from America, but every single one knows how important it is for women to have safe and affordable healthcare,” reads the note. “At the end of the day, women’s rights are fundamental human rights.”

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?