Bumble is one of many dating apps that is positioning itself as a disruptor that plans to change the way we do things. All new apps see themselves as disruptive and often fail to change anything, but Bumble will at least try something different. It forces women to start talking.
While there are many women out there who are more than happy to make the first move, Bumble is particularly empowering to women. You still swipe right to like and left to dislike, but all the first moves are made by women. Guys on Bumble can’t start a conversation at all.
This is a nice idea and will take care of one of the main issues with dating sites and apps. The toxicity of some men and the desperation of others can be a real turn off for women, and Bumble gets it right. Men still swipe to show their preferences but that’s all they can do. The rest is up to the women.
Not only does this make Bumble a better place for women, it also forces men to play their game. Knowing that they are not the ones making the choices, men now have to work even harder to attract a mate. This should result in higher quality profiles and better images. This should also mean gamers and showers go elsewhere and leave Bumble to what’s really on the market.
Getting started with Bumble
Bumble is a dating app started by an early Tinder employee. To get started you need to download the app and create a profile as you normally would.
- Download the app for your device. Android here, iOS here.
- Create an account and create a profile.
- Add pictures and answer all questions. If you want, connect it with your Facebook account and it will take images from there.
- Add Spotify links and helpful information if you want. Bumble asks about employers and universities, but this information is optional.
- Verify your profile when prompted by taking a selfie.
- Go to settings and set some preferences. Check Distance to set a maximum limit to the search range and Age to limit the search to a range you’re comfortable with.
- Set Bumble to show a specific gender or BFF and allow push notifications if you want.
That’s all you need to do to start using Bumble.
Start a conversation on Bumble
To start using Bumble, you need to set a search preference as in Step 7. You can search in Men, women, Men and Women or BFF. This is obvious, so if you want to search for the same gender, you can. If you want a pair, you can call them. Also, if you’re doing something totally platonic, you can do it by choosing your BFF.
After selecting a call, you are presented with profile cards just like any other app. Take a look and swipe right if you like their looks, swipe left if you don’t. Conversation is possible if you match with someone who is also swiping towards you.
If you’re a woman and you find a match, you’ll see a Boom! page. This tells you that you can both swipe right and connect. Female users then have the option to Start a Chat or Resume Bumble. To speak clearly, you’ll want to select Start Chat.
You will then be taken to the chat app, which is no different than the yellow iMessage. You can start the conversation here as you would with any app. Write anything, add an image, GIF or anything and send it. The person responds and the conversation flows from there.
time is essential
One thing to know about Bumble is that once you get a match, you only have 24 hours to start a chat. If you do not start a chat within this time, the match will end and disappear. I don’t know if the same person will appear later with another opportunity to swipe right.
So if you get the Boom! page and the opportunity to start a conversation on Bumble, you better take it. Already within 24 hours, otherwise you may miss it. I don’t know exactly why a match needs to expire as well as create a sense of urgency, but that’s why we need to work with it.
If you’re a woman, it’s fine to start a conversation on Bumble. It puts power firmly in women’s hands, and even as a man I think it’s a good idea.
What do you think of Bumble? Did you like it? Do you hate? Let us know your feedback below!
