Dating is hard. It’s time-consuming and it can be incredibly awkward. But if you’re a busy person, you can’t beat online dating. How else can you sort through a ton of people you are physically attracted to. If you’re newly single and looking to online date, then you should look into the popular dating app Bumble. I decided to take one for the deTeched team and download Bumble to share my experience. Here are my thoughts.
What is Bumble and how does it work?
Bumble is a swipe-based dating app where you swipe right for people you’re interested in and swipe left for ones you aren’t. It’s pretty similar to Tinder except for one catch. Only females can start the conversation by messaging first. If you’re lucky enough to match with another girl, you’ll see her in Bumble’s messaging platform. There is only a 24-hour time limit to encourage women to move quickly into conversing with their matches. You’ll see a color-coded timer that lets you know how much time is left before you lose the match forever.
Making friends is just as hard if not harder than dating. Not looking to date? You can still use Bumble. Bumble has a mode called BFF mode which allows for users to make friendships instead of relationships. Bumble even has a mode called Bumble Bizz, which is designed for professional networking. Bumble Bizz isn’t necessarily for finding jobs but rather networking and mentoring only.
Bumble has a premium version which gives you access to special features. The premium version is called Bumble Boost and the main selling point is that you can automatically see everyone who has swiped right on you. Swiping is fun at first but can lead to something called swipe fatigue. Swipe fatigue makes you not want to use the app because swiping can get tedious after a while. That’s where Bumble Boost comes in where you only have to go on once per day and check to see if anyone has swiped right on you. You’ll also have access to a feature called second chance that will let you rematch with any of your expired matches. The last feature will give you unlimited extends and maximize your chances to make a connection. Here is the pricing structure below.
- 1 week ($8.99/week)
- 1 month ($24.99/month)
- 3 months ($16.66/month)
- 6 months ($13.33/month)
Like Tinder, it’s cheaper per month to buy in bulk. If you’re going to be using the app for a while, it’s may be in your best financial interest buy 3-6 months. There is a caveat though. You’ll have to pay the entire cost upfront even though it looks like you’re paying monthly. You can also pay for Bumble Coins which allows you to Super Swipe on someone letting them know you are very interested in them.
The Bumble Experience
There is only one rule to getting a lot of matches on Bumble and it’s to be good-looking. Any app like Bumble or Tinder is based mostly on how you look visually whether people want to admit it or not. To give yourself the best chance to be successful, you want to have good pictures of yourself that highlight your interests and not a bathroom selfie showing off your abs.
The first thing you’ll notice about Bumble is that in the beginning every girl you’ll see looks like a model. I’m not sure about this sentiment but it feels like the Bumble algorithm is to initially show users who are swiped right the most. The first time I started using the app, every single girl for about 100 swipes was objectively beautiful. I’m not going to lie, it gets you pretty excited about the possibility of matching with a dime. Unfortunately, the odds were not in my favor. This was a common theme in my experience with Bumble. I would match with someone and then never hear from them in the 24-hour window. Interestingly enough, I would match with the same people on different dating apps like Tinder or Coffee Meets Bagel but because I have the opportunity to start the conversation, things would turn out differently. I don’t know if the dynamic changes because the girl messages first, but it seems like I always have better success if I can start the conversation.
It’s difficult to start a conversation with a girl where the only thing she lists in her profile is her Instagram handle. This problem isn’t exclusive to Bumble, it happens on Tinder as well. The problem with having nothing to go on but a girl’s Instagram profile is if the account is private so you don’t know what she’s interested in or if the entire profile is nothing but pictures of herself and not what she’s into. Leaving only your Instagram handle is fine if your account shows things you’re passionate about or interested in. I think dating apps like Coffee Meets Bagel which tailors your profile to reveal more about yourself is an easier way to connect with people you don’t know.
Bumble’s matching algorithm doesn’t try to match you with only friends of friends. Instead, it is like Tinder where it is location-based so there is a 100% chance you’re going to run into people you know. If you’re embarrassed about running into your ex or someone you know, I would look somewhere other than Bumble. I think it’s hilarious running into people I know and giving them a Super Swipe to let them know I saw their profile. It might not be the best use of Bumble’s currency but it makes me laugh.
Overall
For me, Bumble was the least favorite dating app that I’ve tried. That’s not necessarily true for my other friends who use the app. I have friends who say that the people on Bumble are of higher quality in terms of looks and career. It seems like my female friends use Bumble more exclusively because Tinder is associated more with hooking up and the people on Bumble tend to want something more serious. These are all valid points but things that I didn’t personally experience. I like having the opportunity to start the conversation instead of having it solely relies on one person. In my personal experience, I’ve had more success that way. Ultimately, you should choose the dating app that works well for you. Once you get past the superficial nature of many people on the dating app, you can find some really great people out there.