AUSTIN, Texas — Austin-based company Bumble is launching a new app focused on finding friends, according to a report from KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Statesman.
Bumble already offered "Bumble BFF" mode in its main app, but now that function is moving to a standalone platform called "Bumble for Friends," focused entirely on platonic relationships.
For the unfamiliar, Bumble is best known for its namesake dating app, which works similarly to other dating apps, except that it only allows women to initiate contact with people that peak their interest. In addition to the Bumble app – which has included Bumble BFF mode since 2016 and the networking mode Bizz since 2017 – Bumble also operates two other dating apps, Badoo and Fruitz.
Bumble CEO and founder Whitney Wolfe Herd told the Statesman that friendship has always been a critical part of Bumble's goal for its users and Bumble for Friends is designed to help "create a fun way for people of all life stages to connect."
Bumble said up to 15% of the Bumble app's monthly active members use BFF mode. The company also said its research shows people are making friends online more than ever and that Generation Z is particularly open to connecting digitally.
According to the Statesman's report, Bumble for Friends is designed to work similar to the main Bumble app, with swiping for matches and conversations with matches. The Bumble app will allow users to migrate their BFF profiles to Bumble for Friends, but once migrated, users will no longer have access to BFF within the Bumble app.
To learn more, read the Statesman's full report.