Dating app Bumble heads into the friend zone
Dating app Bumble is heading into the friend zone. Switching on the BFF mode, or "Bumble for Friends" mode, will allow users to seek out platonic bonds.
"We always need friends. And I think we come out of these highly social environments with university, college, wherever we were, and getting to a new city could be daunting," Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe said Monday on "CBS This Morning." "It can be lonely, and it's almost easier to find a date than it is to find a friend."
On Bumble, the ladies are required to make the first move. Once those women make a match, the app gives them 24 hours to reach out and start a conversation. Launched at the end of 2014, Bumble has gained 3 million users, and women have made the first move more than 33 million times.
"We have an incredible user base, and so many of them were using this app to find friends. And they've been requesting a feature for -- 'Hey, I'm in a relationship, but I love Bumble. I still want to be able to use it,'" Wolfe said.
Wolfe said she first set out to create an app to fight online bullying and launch something to help with online accountability.
"From there, a series of things kind of parlayed it into a dating app. My business partner said, 'You know, I think the vision is incredible, but this is needed in dating as well," Wolfe said.
Wolfe, who was a co-founder of Tinder, made headlines in 2014 when she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the mobile app company and reached a settlement with IAC, its parent company.
While she couldn't comment on the events surrounding the case, she said, "Tinder's still doing very well, and I wish them nothing but the best. And I hope they see continued success."