Bumble Ends Women-First Messaging Rule to Boost Engagement

Bumble announced on Tuesday that it is removing its signature women-first messaging rule, a core feature since its 2014 launch that required women to initiate conversations in heterosexual matches. Under the new policy, either person in a match can send the first message. The company is also extending the match reply window from 24 hours to 72 hours to reduce the number of expired interactions.

These changes follow tests in Canada that demonstrated higher chat initiation rates and an increase in mutual conversations. The shift occurs as the dating app industry faces slowing growth and user fatigue. Bumble recently reported a 16.4% decline in paying users and provided a third-quarter revenue forecast that fell below Wall Street estimates.

Founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd stated that the changes are a response to demands from users for more flexibility, less pressure, and more opportunities to create real, meaningful connections.