One of the best things about dating apps is that you can admire others from afar in relative anonymity and without getting caught in a tangled web of emotions. On the other hand, one of the most controversial aspects of dating apps is, Entirely anonymous. In essence, apps use GPS data to record the user’s location and then make that information semi-public. This functionality makes sense to some extent. The entire concept of the application will not work without location information. Most of us are not interested in trying to form a relationship with someone who lives far away. Despite the fact that the information needs to be outside, those who are concerned about their privacy are rightly concerned about this data being misused by stalkers, angry exes or the government. These are all very valid concerns!
In this article, we’ll take a look at how Bumble handles geospatial information and compare it to other great dating apps. Can you set your location in the app or are you at the mercy of your GPS indicators? Do you have any control over how much information Bumble discloses about you? These answers and more are below. 
Geo Settings
Unlike many other apps, Bumble doesn’t run on your device all the time. When you exit the device, the device will turn off and will not restart unless you see a new match or message or just start it up. So, if you’re offline, the only location the app has about you is your last location when you last signed in. This information is displayed in the app using your city name. Other users will see the distance from you based on the last time you launched the app. Users do not know whether you are online or not. When you’re back online and open Bumble, the app will pull its information from your Wi-Fi information and your phone’s GPS data. This fact means that Bumble will always set your location based on your physical location while using the app.
How Do We Know It’s Working?
There has been a lot of speculation about the accuracy of Bumble’s geotracking. It’s clear that not all GPS locators are created equal. That said, the app has good location tracking and “knows” where you are with some reliability.
How will you know that Bumble has detected you correctly? First check your profile results. Your top profile results tend to be filtered by proximity. Of course, the first photos you’ll see when logging in are, at least partially, from the people closest to your location.
However, these results are further filtered. Once proximity is taken into account, the rank or popularity of the profile becomes another important filter. Profiles with more views from users tend to show up more often and sooner than profiles that get rejected a lot. If you’re in a place with very few Bumble members, this can be a confusing way to track location.
Can You Turn off Geotracking?
No. While you can prevent Bumble from knowing where you are (see below), the app will always think it at least knows where you are and put you in the stack of cards for that part of the world. There is no way to effectively prevent Bumble from knowing your location and still continue using the app to match, chat, and meet local people. Bumble used to allow users to temporarily turn off geolocation, but this is no longer an option in the latest version. If your smartphone’s location setting is turned off, the app will not work at all.
Automatic and Manual Settings
Bumble lets you set your acceptable distance range for possible matches, from 3 miles to 100 miles. However, Bumble does not allow you to set your location manually. Competitors like Tinder have premium tiers that let you specify where you are, which is useful for people going on a vacation or business trip. However, if you use a simple trick, Bumble has a way around this limitation.
First, you will need to access your smartphone’s Settings menu and find your location option. If you disable the location option, moving from one city to another will not prompt Bumble to update your location. however, the app will not work until you open the location again. However, to indicate where you really are, you need to make sure you turn off the location feature in the area you want to be seen, which will allow Bumble to maintain this last location state unchanged. The state of the app should change not just which users see you, but what kind of profiles you see.
Bumble’s Travel Mode
While Bumble is strict about location, the team behind the app understands that people are rarely inactive. Travel mode allows users to set their location to a different city for up to seven days. Unfortunately, you cannot determine an exact location. Bumble will “put you down” right in the middle of the city. Your profile also displays an indicator letting other Bumble users know you’re in Travel mode.
You’ll have to pay for the privilege in Bumble tokens, but the process for setting up Travel mode is pretty simple:
- First, tap the gear icon to open Settings.
- Go to Location settings at the bottom and tap on the “Travel to…” option.
- Search and select the city.
- The timer will start immediately on your Travel period!
While in travel mode, you can change your location as many times as you want, but you can only select one location at a time.
final thought
When it comes to sharing information, Bumble isn’t all that different from most other dating apps. Many people find it very helpful to be able to look at possible matches in the immediate area.
While some users are nervous about how sharing their location affects their privacy, Bumble has strict permission guidelines. If you feel uneasy about another user’s activity, you should never hesitate to click “Block & Report” or contact Bumble.
Want more information on getting the most out of Bumble? Find out if Bumble notifies other people when you take a picture of their photos.
