If you’re feeling disheartened by dating apps in 2024, you’re not the only one. There’s been a steady decline in downloads since their peak in the pandemic, encouraging a multi-billion-dollar industry – including favourites such as Bumble, Tinder and Hinge – to overhaul its apps to make people fall in love with using them again.

Hinge and Tinder have already introduced new safety features and now Bumble has started its reinvention, too. The female-driven dating app announced a $1.9 million (£1.52m) net loss in 2023, leading the company to lay off 30% of its staff. CEO Lidiane Jones explained to employees in an email that the company needed to be “leaner, more agile and more efficient” so it can “accelerate how quickly we innovate”.

As part of this new era, Bumble is introducing new features, including a place to put your dating intentions and allowing men to start the conversation with its ‘opening moves’ feature. The platform will allow women to choose from a list of questions (or write their own) such as their favourite movie or their dream celebrity dinner date, which men can respond to, in a change from its original USP. In a heterosexual exchange, after the couple have matched, the pre-prepared opening question will be sent to the man and he can respond to it.

Founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd in 2014, Bumble has been one of the go-to dating apps for Gen Z and millennial women, due to the unique premise that women get to message their match first. If they don’t, there’s no conversation or date.

“Women aren’t tired of making the first move, they’re tired of dating apps”