Bumble Ends Women-First Messaging Rule and Gives Users More Time to Reply
Bumble is making one of the biggest changes in its history: the dating app is ending the rule that required women to send the first message in heterosexual matches.
The company announced that either person in a match can now start the conversation. The update marks a major shift for an app that built its identity around giving women control over who could begin a chat.
Bumble is also extending the time users have to respond to a match. Instead of the previous 24-hour limit, matches will now have 72 hours to reply. The company says the longer response window is designed to reduce pressure and make dating feel less rushed.
For many users, the 24-hour countdown became one of the most stressful parts of the app. If someone was busy, offline, or simply unsure what to say, a match could disappear before the conversation even began. With the new 72-hour window, Bumble hopes users will have more flexibility and feel less need to constantly check the app.
The change is a major evolution for Bumble, which launched in 2014 as a dating platform where women made the first move. At the time, the feature helped separate Bumble from other dating apps by offering what it described as a safer and more thoughtful way to meet people. The women-first rule was meant to cut down on unwanted messages and give women more control over their dating experience.
Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said the update should not be seen as the company abandoning its original purpose. Instead, she described it as a broader interpretation of what it means to design a dating experience with women in mind.
According to Wolfe Herd, women making the first move was once a radical idea, but being a women-first platform was never supposed to mean there was only one acceptable way to connect. She said the goal has always been to create better outcomes for everyone by listening to what women need from the dating experience.
Bumble says its own survey data helped guide the decision. According to the company, 66% of women surveyed said they would prefer men to send the first message. Many respondents said this would make online dating feel less stressful. Bumble also said more than half of surveyed members felt the longer response window improved their experience.
The company says users are asking for more flexibility, less pressure, and better opportunities to form real connections. Bumble argues that the new messaging system reflects those requests while still supporting the app’s original mission.
This is not the first time Bumble has moved away from its strict women-message-first model. In 2024, the app introduced “Opening Moves,” a feature that allowed women to place a question on their profile. Men could then answer that prompt to begin a conversation, giving users a more flexible way to interact while still allowing women to shape the tone of the first exchange.
The latest update comes at an important time for Bumble’s business. The company has been trying to regain momentum as the online dating industry faces slower growth, user burnout, and stronger competition. Bumble’s recent second-quarter earnings showed revenue falling 15.2% year over year to $210.5 million. The company also expects its number of paying users to decline in the third quarter.
Bumble is not alone in facing challenges. Many dating apps are struggling to keep users engaged as people grow tired of endless swiping and repetitive conversations. For younger users in particular, traditional dating app formats may no longer feel exciting or effective.
To address this, Bumble has been exploring new ways to help people connect. The company has discussed a future with less emphasis on swiping, more in-person events, and the use of AI-powered features to improve matching and conversation. These changes are aimed especially at Gen Z users, who are often looking for more natural and meaningful ways to meet people.
By allowing anyone to send the first message and giving matches more time to respond, Bumble is clearly trying to make online dating feel more relaxed and less like a race against the clock. The move may surprise longtime users, but it reflects a broader shift in how people want dating apps to work today.
For Bumble, the challenge now is balancing the identity that made it famous with the flexibility modern daters say they want. The women-first rule helped define the app for more than a decade. Now, Bumble is betting that giving users more choice could be the key to keeping them engaged in a changing dating market.
