Bumble just changed who gets to make the first move

Bumble, the dating app, is altering one of its core features: the rule that dictates who can send the initial message in a match. Starting today, this rule changes, offering both men and women the flexibility to initiate a conversation. Alongside this change, Bumble is extending the response window from 24 hours to 72 hours, making it less likely for a promising match to disappear due to being busy.

Bumble insists that this move is not about abandoning the original idea of women making the first move, but rather to provide users with more options. The new system still maintains a structure where the person who sends the first message gets one initial message, and the chat only opens after the other person responds. Bumble aims to encourage more chat initiations and make those initial messages more evenly distributed between genders.

In a survey, more than half of the users said the longer response time improved their experience, and 92% of women said they still felt in control. The shift is broader than who sends the first message; it's about accommodating people's busy schedules and the fact that dating apps often turn a missed day into a missed opportunity.

The change is part of Bumble's broader push to enhance what happens after the swipe, introducing features like refreshed Profile Prompts and AI-powered profile feedback to help users move from matching to actual dates.