Men can now send the first message on Bumble after the dating app announced an overhaul to one of its founding features.
Previously, only women could initiate contact with male matches.
From today, heterosexual matches on the app can message in either direction.
The company has also extended the response window from 24 hours to 72 hours, giving recipients more time to reply before the match expires.
Here’s what you need to know.
Context
Launched in 2014, U.S-based dating app Bumble is one of the most widely used platforms of its kind.
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The company released an official statement on Wednesday (AEST) saying: “Beginning today, anyone in a match can send the first message.”
The platform cited its own survey data, which found 66% of female respondents prefer men to send the first message, “with many sharing that this would make dating feel less pressured.”
When two users match, they’ll now have 72 hours to begin chatting (up from the previous 24 hour window).
Bumble said this change was in response to feedback that matches are “often lost due to timing, not lack of interest.”
“While women making the first move was a radical idea, being women-first was never about prescribing just one way to connect.
It was about designing... better outcomes for everyone,” Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said.
“Our community is asking for more flexibility, less pressure, and more opportunities to create real, meaningful connection,” she added.
