BBC – Young adults are moving away from dating apps and meeting partners through shared-interest platforms like video games, fitness apps, and online communities. Tinder lost 594K users, Bumble dropped by 368K, and Hinge declined by 131K in the UK, according to Ofcom's 2024 report. A 2023 US survey found 79% of Gen Z were using dating apps less frequently. Instead, platforms like Strava (135M users, 20% growth) and Letterboxd (50% growth) are becoming spaces where people naturally form connections. On Strava, 1 in 5 Gen Z users have gone on a date through fitness clubs.
CNBC – Whitney Wolfe Herd will return as the company’s CEO in mid-March. She previously stepped down from the role and was replaced by Lidiane Jones, who led Salesforce’s Slack. Jones is resigning as CEO of Bumble for “personal reasons,” Bumble said.
CAMPAIGN LIVE – Bumble is partnering with comedian Amelia Dimoldenberg to produce dating content, including interviews, dating “dos and don’ts,” and her “Flirty-Firsts” series, shared on Bumble’s and Dimoldenberg’s social channels. The partnership also includes her hosting Bumble’s annual “Valentine’s Affair” event and is part of a larger collaboration with Interview Magazine’s Mel Ottenberg to create celebrity interviews and editorial content.
INVESTING.COM – Bumble's stock rose 3.2% following the appointment of Michael Affronti as Chief Product Officer (CPO). Formerly SVP at Salesforce, Affronti brings extensive experience in product innovation, having led multi-billion-dollar e-commerce initiatives and held roles at Microsoft and Dataminr. Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones emphasized his ability to drive innovation as the company plans bold product developments for 2025. Affronti replaces former CPO Ali Rayl, with investors reacting positively to this strategic leadership move.
CNN – Dating apps are on the cusp of a major transformation. Personalized chatbots dating other chatbots on your behalf. AI concierges fielding questions about potential matches. Advanced algorithms predicting compatibility better than ever before. At its investor meeting, Match Group teased plans to use AI to improve user experiences and help make better connections. Hinge will offer more personalized matching, smarter algorithms that adapt to users and better understand them over time, and AI coaching for struggling daters. AI is going to transform the dating app experience, taking it from a do-it-yourself platform to an expertly guided journey that leads to far better outcomes and much better value. Bumble uses AI in safety features like its Private Detector – an AI-powered tool that blurs explicit images – and Deception Detector, which identifies spam, scams and fake profiles. Similarly, Match Group offers tools like buttons that say “Are You Sure?” to detect harmful language and “Does This Bother You?” to prompt users to report inappropriate behavior. Startup Rizz is experimenting with chatbots that help respond to messages. During Match Group’s investor day, Hinge’s CEO, Justin McLeod announced plans to build the “world’s most knowledgeable dating coach.” Hinge has seen a higher number of matches and subscription renewals with its improved AI algorithm among early test groups.
Mark Brooks: Large incumbent dating companies are sitting pretty because of large troves of data that can be used to inform AI to help move people towards finding better matches, improve their dates, and then make better decisions about what to do next.
BLOOMBERG LAW – A shareholder lawsuit has been filed against Bumble, alleging that founder Whitney Wolfe Herd and the board made misleading statements about expected revenue growth from new app features. The suit, filed by Carmela Harnum in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, claims these statements led to inflated stock prices, causing financial losses when disappointing earnings were reported. Bumble’s stock dropped from $13.18 to $11.23 in February 2024 and from $8.06 to $5.71 in August 2024 following poor financial results. This is the third such lawsuit against Bumble in recent months. The company has not commented.
INVESTING.COM – Bumble is overhauling its app ecosystem and shifting marketing strategies to attract more users, though some analysts warn this could weaken its core women-first approach. The company reported a 1% decline in Q3 2024 revenue, with $274M in total revenue and $220M from the Bumble app. Paying users grew by 11% to 4.3M. Bumble is targeting international markets and diversifying with features like Bumble For Friends, but it faces stiff competition from Match Group and ongoing revenue pressures, with analysts projecting further declines in the near term.
THE GUARDIAN – ~1.4M people in the UK left online dating in the past year, as experts say users view it more as a chore than a social activity. Ofcom’s 2024 Online Nation report reveals a 16% decline in the use of the top 10 dating apps between 2023 and 2024. Tinder saw the largest drop, losing over 500K users since May 2023, while Bumble and Hinge lost 368K and 131K, respectively. Researchers at the University of Leeds’ Centre for Love, Sex, and Relationships (CLSR) attribute the decline to user fatigue and a sense of detachment from reality. Natasha McKeever, a lecturer at CLSR, notes that virtual dating feels more like a task than a social experience. Another factor is the monopolization of dating apps; Match Group accounts for over half of the 7.27M users of the top 10 apps in 2024.
INVESTING – Bumble announced key leadership changes, appointing Neil Shah as Chief Business Officer to drive strategic initiatives. Shah brings experience from Slack, Twitter, and McKinsey. CFO Anu Subramanian will step down in March 2025, with a search for her successor underway, and CMO Selby Drummond will leave in January 2025. Bumble reaffirmed its financial outlook for Q4 and 2024, maintaining prior projections. Q3 revenue fell 1% YOY to $274M but exceeded analyst estimates, with EBITDA reaching $83M, 5% above expectations.
BUSINESSWIRE – Bumble today reported financial results for the Q4 and full year 2024.
