Democrat and Chronicle

Women ‘make the 1st move’ with new feature

- Ahjané Forbes

Bumble is giving women more ways to “make the first move” as it introduced a new feature on the dating app Tuesday.

Since 2014, Bumble is a dating app that has been women-centric, allowing women have control of their dating lives. With a nod to the company’s slogan, “make the first move,” women have a new way to get the conversati­on going.

“Opening Moves” is a new Bumble feature that gives women the opportunit­y to make their move without the hassle of an uncomforta­ble conversati­on. The feature allows women to choose a prompt question or create their own question that they want all of their potential suitors to answer, at which point a conversati­on can begin.

The feature’s goal is to empower women to have more control and options in dating, Bumble wrote on its website.

“We have always believed that when you make dating better for women, you make it better for everyone. In listening to our community, many have shared their exhaustion with the current online dating experience, and for some, that includes making the first move,” Bumble CEO, Lidiane Jones, said in the news release.

“We’re also hearing from women that empowermen­t today is not only about control but it’s also about agency. And we’re excited to offer more choice in how women make the first move with our new Opening Moves feature.”

Bumble also said the feature is not solely for heterosexu­al couples; samesex and nonbinary couples can join in too. Either person can respond to their match’s question on the feature.

Staying true to its “women-first” mindset, Bumble’s decision to launch the new feature was prompted after women using the app spoke about their experience­s, with some complainin­g about having to carry too much of the conversati­on, a company spokespers­on told USA TODAY.

Some prompt examples include:

● What does your perfect weekend look like?

● What’s your favorite karaoke song?

● What’s something about you I wouldn’t know from your profile?

The Bumble spokespers­on said along with “Opening Moves,” the app is releasing the following features:

● Dating intentions: Users will be able to specify what type of relationsh­ip they are looking for. The options include: long-term relationsh­ip; life partner; fun, casual dates; intimacy without commitment; ethical nonmonogam­y; marriage

● For You (previously called Best Bees): Will give users four curated profiles based on the users’ preference­s and previous matches.

● Profile commonalit­ies: Do you like talking your dog for a walk or visiting a local bookstore for a new good read? Bumble will now show what you have in common with another user at the top of their profile. This feature will also include Spotify artists for all the music lovers out there.

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