Bumble Says Goodbye to Swipe
The swipe gesture in dating apps serves a key function. Users can right-swipe another user’s profile to indicate that they’d like to match with them, and left-swipe to indicate that they’re not interested in them. Once two users have right-swiped each other, the dating app matches them together, and they can then initiate a conversation.
Swipe was first introduced as a mechanic and popularised by Tinder, and soon it was adopted by multiple dating platforms, including Bumble, Boo, Happn, Badoo, and more. However, after using it as a key feature since day one, Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said on The Axios Show, “We are going to be saying goodbye to the swipe and hello to something that I believe is revolutionary for the category.”
The reason behind the move is said to be the increasing swipe fatigue among young adults. A Forbes Health/OnePoll survey has found that nearly 78 percent of Gen Z dating app users have experienced swipe fatigue and general symptoms of burnout.
The changes will reportedly begin rolling out in select markets starting in the fourth quarter of the current year. Herd reportedly did not explain what the revolutionary replacement was. Alternative non-swipe features in the space include Hinge’s profile interaction or Aisle’s curated matches. Bumble could introduce something entirely different.
Apart from this, Herd also claimed that the company will do away with the existing system where one gender gets to make the first move while the other gender has to wait. Highlighting that the essence of why women made the first move will be preserved, the Bumble CEO reportedly said, “We will not force one gender over another to do something first.”
