Will the decline of interest in dating apps put an end to swiping? For Bumble, it seems that way.
Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Heard, in a recent interview with Axios, announced that the app will phase out swiping, a hallmark feature of dating apps from the 2010s.
“We are going to be saying goodbye to the swipe and hello to something that I believe is revolutionary for the category,” Wolfe Herd said.
Bumble is set to revamp its app later this year after repeatedly losing paying users over recent quarters. In the first quarter of this year, Bumble’s paid users dropped by about 21% to 3.2 million, down from 4 million the previous year.
This app redesign is a serious measure, indicating that the situation is critical. However, Wolfe Herd has framed Bumble’s financial challenges as strategic choices for better quality.
“This is a period of real transformation at Bumble over the past few quarters,” she stated during the earnings call. “We have executed a deliberate reset of our member base. We made a clear choice to prioritize quality over quantity, focusing on well-intentioned, engaged members. That decision reduced overall scale, but meaningfully improved the health of our ecosystem.”
Based on previous statements from Wolfe Herd, Bumble is anticipated to integrate more AI features. The company is developing an AI dating assistant named Bee, and Wolfe has often remarked how AI will enhance love and relationships.
While dating apps already use AI for matching users, Gen Z is skeptical about overt AI features. Wolfe Herd has also shown curiosity in futuristic ideas like having AI bots date each other. Whether these ideas will appeal to users in their 20s is uncertain. Bumble’s new features are expected to debut in the last quarter of this year, so swiping will continue until then.