Online Dating

Bumble is testing its BFF (Bumble for Friends) service as a standalone app for finding friends, according to Mashable.

Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz (for career networking) have been features on the main Bumble dating app for a long time, and now Bumble intends to spin BFF off into its own entity. The new app is being tested in the UK and select Asian markets, according to confirmation from Bumble. And according to Tech Crunch, though Bumble couldn’t confirm specific countries where it’s being tested, the app is also available in Australia, New Zealand and Philippines for both Androids and iPhones.

Bumble BFF expected to launch in the U.S. this summer.

It’s likely that the dating app’s Bizz service will be a standalone app down the line as well. But for now, the company is focusing on its BFF service, since about 15 percent of Bumble’s active monthly users utilize the feature.

Image: Her

Dating app HER has launched “Thirst Mode,” a new feature in time for Pride Month.

Thirst Mode offers HER users 60 minutes per day of unlimited likes, the ability to see who has liked them, and a chance to move their profiles to the top of the heap for more visibility, according to Cosmopolitan. This feature is intended to showcase that the dating app is prioritizing hookups as well as relationships, especially during Pride. The company found in a recent survey that 40 percent of its users were hoping to hook up with a friend this month.

HER was launched primarily for the lesbian singles community, but has now expanded to include “FLINTAS” (female, lesbian, intersex, trans, and agender singles).

The feature will be free during Pride month for all users, according to Cosmopolitan. After that, it will be a premium feature that costs $5.99 per month for those willing to pay.

Image: Bumble

Dating app Bumble is showing users it puts safety first according to its recent ad campaign “The New Rules of the Game,” which won an award from The Drum for Marketing the Americas 2023.

According to The Drum, Bumble wanted the campaign to speak to women, who are often worried about meeting people on a dating app because they are likely to encounter rude or explicit messages or photos when they are searching. The company highlights all the ways Bumble is creating a safe space for singles, where dating can be both safe and fun.

The campaign focused on real and important issues for daters while at the same time making it playful and engaging by doing a series of sports-related ads. In one, a female baseball player is up for bat and waiting for the pitch while the narrator talks about the “Private Detective” feature which keeps photos blurred, unless the user says it’s ok to see. At the end, the batter catches an eggplant and smiles, adding to the humor.

Image: Match

Dating app Match has launched a new feature called 72 Hours, aiming to get people off the app and into a real-life date by creating a time-limited online event. The app will gather participants in close proximity and help them connect.

The time-sensitive feature will be a weekly in-app experience. Users who participate will be able to select profiles on a map and start conversations (with a nudge to make weekend plans) before the 72 hours is up. The map will limit options to 15 potential matches, but users can adjust age and location filters to find profiles that are further away, according to Tech Crunch.

Participants will only have the 72 Hours to message potential matches, and after that, their messages will disappear. (Match will also provide a countdown to remind users the clock is ticking.)

Dating app BLK, a dating and lifestyle app for the black community, has launched a series of profile stickers in time for Pride Month to celebrate the LGBTQIA2S+ community. In addition, the company launched the #BLKVoices social media campaign to educate and dispel misconceptions surrounding the letters of the spectrum.

The profile stickers were designed by Brooklyn-based artist Thaddeus Coates, who goes by the name Hippy Potter, and are available exclusively for BLK users, according to news website Atlanta Daily World. Each sticker represents a letter from the LGBTQIA2S+ spectrum, and users can add them to their profiles to display their identities and spark conversation. The intention behind this offering is not only to connect people romantically, but also to foster engagement among users who might not know what certain letters stand for.

The idea came when BLK conducted a survey among its users and found that 40 percent of LGBTQIA2S+ individuals were unfamiliar with the meaning of every letter in the spectrum, according to Atlanta Daily World. Since so many members within the queer community on the platform were uncertain, the company wanted to raise awareness and dispel false assumptions among all users.

Muzz, a dating app for Muslim singles, is hosting a series of in-person events in major cities around the world, most recently in New York. About 250 of the app’s users attended.

The event was held in a halal Italian restaurant in Brooklyn and included religious observances, such as prayer mats set up in an outdoor dining tent for Maghreb, one of the five daily prayers for Muslims. The dating app has also recently held events in Toronto, New Jersey, Baltimore, London and Dubai in the last couple of months.

According to Indian Express, at the beginning of the Brooklyn event, attendees were anxious and worried that they looked “desperate” for attending. At the start of the event, women mingled with other women and men spoke with other men, even though it was intended for mingling between sexes. (Muzz does not currently serve the LGBTQ+ community. Founder and CEO Shahzad Younas told Indian Express there were no current plans to expand its app for inclusion, noting: “We’re still at a stage where the premise of our app, even for the straight market, is considered taboo.”)