FAST COMPANY – While Bumble struggles with declining revenue, user losses, and a 30% workforce reduction, Grindr is growing, posting a 25% YOY revenue increase and a rising stock price. Under CEO George Arison, Grindr has focused on innovation, launching features like Right Now and Albums, expanding into telemedicine (Woodwork), and targeting both dating and non-dating use cases within one app. Grindr's monthly active users grew to 14.5M, while Bumble lost 100K paying users in 2025. Arison criticizes rivals for focusing too much on monetization without product innovation, contrasting it with Grindr's strategy of building first, then monetizing. Unlike Bumble, which spun off Bumble for Friends into a separate app, Grindr integrates friendship and dating into one platform, aligning with its broader vision to become a "global gayborhood."
Category: Bumble
Complaint Says Bumble Feature Connected to OpenAI Violates EU Data Privacy Rules
THE RECORD – Privacy group noyb has filed a complaint in Austria against Bumble, alleging that its Icebreakers feature in the Bumble for Friends app violates EU GDPR regulations. The feature, launched in Dec 2023 and powered by OpenAI, analyzes user profiles to generate pre-written messages. According to noyb, this is done without valid consent, sufficient transparency, or a clear legal basis for sharing personal and sensitive data with a third party. Instead of requesting direct consent, Bumble uses pop-ups that prompt users to click "Okay." Noyb claims this creates a false sense of choice and pressures users into agreeing without understanding they are sharing data with OpenAI.
Bumble to Lay off 30% of Its Workforce
TECH CRUNCH – Bumble is laying off 30% of its workforce (~240 jobs) as part of a restructuring plan to focus on product and technology. The company expects to save $40M annually and reinvest most of it into development. It will incur $13-$18M in severance-related costs in Q3 and Q4 2025. This is Bumble's second major layoff in two years – the last was in February 2024, cutting 350 jobs. Despite weak Q1 earnings, the company raised its Q2 revenue forecast and saw its stock rise 20% after the layoff announcement. Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd returned as CEO in March 2025. Match has also laid off staff amid slowing user growth.
TikTok’s Latest Budget Hack Is ‘Dating for Dinner’
MARKETWATCH – The TikTok-driven trend “dating for dinner,” or intentionally dating for free meals, has gained popularity due to economic pressures, particularly among Gen Z. Nearly half of Gen Z (48%) feel financially insecure, a significant rise from 30% the previous year, driven by high unemployment (9.7% among 16–24-year-olds versus 4.2% overall), rising living costs, and student debt burdens. According to Bumble’s 2025 report, 95% of singles say future economic concerns impact their dating decisions, with 60% of women seeking financial stability in partners. While 44% of singles surveyed by Self Financial believe the higher earner should pay for dates, 36% prefer splitting costs evenly, and 21% think whoever organizes the date should pay.
AI Takes Over Key Features on Dating Apps in India, but Trust Issues Remain
NDTV – AI is becoming increasingly integrated into dating apps in India, with platforms like Bumble, Tinder, Hinge, Happn, and Aisle using it for profile optimization, match suggestions, fraud detection, and user safety. Match Group added AI tools in March 2025 to assist with photos, bios, and match selection. Bumble uses AI for fake profile detection and conversation starters, while Hinge and Tinder rely on AI to personalize user experiences. Challenges include data privacy concerns, algorithmic bias, deepfake scams, and lack of emotional intelligence. While Indians use AI for relationship advice and self-reflection, most still prefer human input for matchmaking.
Dating Apps End Their Best Month of Revenue Ever
APPFIGURES – In April, the top three dating apps cashed their biggest checks yet. $4B. That’s how much users spent in the top 3 three dating apps so far in 2024 as a result of increasing prices, aggressive monetization, and new subscription tiers. Hinge’s basic subscription, which has a variable cost based on age and location, can cost $45/mo. Double what it was in 2020. Bumble and Tinder have done the same. Bumble lost momentum in the last year, but even it is seeing revenue rise. ±$76M in app in April, up 25% from January of 2024. Tinder saw $171M of gross revenue in April, up 35% from January of 2024.
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Whitney Wolfe Herd on Burning out and Bouncing Back
NEW YORK TIMES – Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of Bumble and co-founder of Tinder, returns as CEO of Bumble after a year-long break. She initially left due to exhaustion, family priorities, and burnout. Her return was prompted by the resignation of her successor and a feeling that Bumble needed her back. She reflects on: Tinder's toxic culture and her sexual harassment lawsuit; her disappointment with media coverage, notably Bloomberg's critique of Bumble's feminist branding as mere marketing; admitting Bumble isn't perfect, acknowledging overselling its empowerment angle, and its role in dating app fatigue. On Gen Z fatigue, she says users feel judged and rejected by current app mechanics, like swiping. Her solution: overhaul Bumble using AI and human coaches to offer more intelligent matchmaking and self-reflection tools – quizzes to help users understand themselves and build better relationships. She's also pivoting toward offline connections, launching features that promote local group events, aiming to fight loneliness and build community. Wolfe Herd criticizes venture capital's bias against women and the regression of support for female founders.
Analyst Outlook – New Street Research – “Online Dating Resilient in Downturns”
OPW – Continued challenges with Gen Z usage remain the long-term cloud hanging over the dating sector. In the short term, MTCH and BMBL have seen considerable management turnover, and the market is now waiting to see if new leaders can change course. At MTCH, CEO Bernard Kim and CTO Will Wu have departed, as has long-time President/CFO Gary Swidler, while Spencer Rascoff (previously on the Board) and Steven Bailey (Swidler's longtime lieutenant) have taken over the CEO and CFO roles. At BMBL, Whitney Wolfe Herd has returned and begun a significant overhaul of senior management. The exception: consistent leadership from George Arison and Vanna Krantz has helped anchor GRND's continued outperformance.
The big question facing new management at MTCH and BMBL: can consistent, healthy revenue growth re-emerge, or are these mature businesses where cost-cutting and the return of capital to shareholders become more important themes?
In the shorter term, the market is broadly focused on the potential impact of changing US tariff policies, and online dating has typically been more resilient in economic downturns relative to other Internet sectors like eCommerce and digital advertising. With that said, a la carte revenue trends dipped at Tinder in the past few weeks, so it's not completely immune, and macro uncertainty adds to the challenge of kick-starting innovation, improving trust and safety, and figuring out the right mix of price and product merchandising facing MTCH and BMBL.
Daniel Salmon – Partner, New Street Research
Mark Brooks: This is a guest post from our investor analyst friend Dan Salmon. We occasionally work on Zoom and IRL investor events with investor analysts who cover the dating industry.
Bumble CEO Admits Growth Strategy Backfired as Revenue Drops 7.7%
BUSINESS INSIDER – Bumble reported a 7.7% drop in Q1 2025 revenue as founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, who returned as CEO in March, acknowledged the app lost its way by prioritizing growth over user experience. She cited an influx of low-quality profiles, poor matches, and a shift from word-of-mouth to performance marketing as key missteps. Bumble plans to cut ad spend, remove bad actors, and improve matching with AI. The company is trying to recover from a 90% stock decline since its 2021 IPO. Competitor Match Group also reported weak results, laying off 13% of its staff.
Bumble Announces Q1 2025 Results
BUSINESSWIRE – Bumble's total revenue decreased 8% to $247M. Bumble app revenue decreased 6% to $202M, and paying users decreased 1% to 2.7M. Net earnings were $19.8M, or 8% of revenue, compared to net earnings of $33.9M, or 12.6% of revenue. Adjusted EBITDA was $64.4M, compared to $74M in Q1 24. During Q1 of 2025, Bumble repurchased $28.7M of Class A common stock shares under our previously announced $450M share repurchase program. As of March 31, 2025, $50M remained available for repurchase under the program.