Bumble has one key advantage over other dating apps: only women can initiate contact. This feature may seem sexist or progressive depending on your point of view. However you feel about it, one can’t deny the obvious fact that it helps prevent the women on Bumble from receiving a tidal wave of spam type messages that range from creepy to horrifying on a regular basis. The average good guy trying to message a woman anything normal on OkCupid or Tinder will find their message buried under an avalanche of crap. With Bumble, this is not the case.

Women on Bumble have all the power and initiate every conversation. They only receive messages from men they contact. So if a guy responds, she’s most likely going to read it eventually. Bumble usually transmits messages in real time, but not always. It’s best to move over to text messages when you’re trying to actually meet. The first message women typically send range from “Hi There”. All the way to “Would you rather die by a shark attack or a bear attack?” my response - “Are you’re asking me if I want to go surfing or camping?”

I first read about this brilliant rethinking of the dating app many years before I heard of anyone actually using it. When I signed up originally on Bumble it was a ghost-town. Now it’s gaining traction. Dating apps often take a very long time to grow a user base. Feeld (originally called thrinder before the threat of litigation by Tinder) is just now starting to have actual users after many years out there. The app is still full of bugs, ghost accounts, bots etc. and the reviews are hilarious to read. Apps for unconventional dating arrangements however typically have one major flaw inherent to the concept. Everyone wants to remain anonymous and faceless and yet everyone wants to see you before they meet. So… uh… yeah, not sure how that works. But back to Bumble…

While using Bumble, assuming you put in a limited distance and age range, you will be able to swipe through everyone in about a week of average casual use. Eventually, those you swiped right and left on will appear again. Those you matched with and chatted with and then unmatched will also, eventually appear again. So, be kind. Play nice. You will see them again, they will see you again. Women have all the power here so respect that. Or you will probably see your profile and correspondence screenshoted and uploaded to a comical and angry tumblr account somewhere.

If you adjust the distance or age, you’ll get another round of contenders. One final thing to note is the geotagging that confuses everyone. It’s going to post your location so be clear in your profile where you actually live if you travel frequently. Because people will assume you live wherever you happen to be at that moment.

Other than that, it’s a standard swipe app like any other. It’s always best to put up recent photos. Make a profile that represents you accurately and be yourself. Anything else is a waste of time for both you and the women who swipe right on you. Also be aware that
Bumble is a dating app. Too many people use it as a billboard for their awesomeness. This is offputting to all. It’s wise to treat any app like a 2D bar. You’re not going to roll into the average bar with your shirt off carrying dumbbells. Women also won’t be in the average bar in their bikini busting out varsity level yoga poses so avoid those types of pictures. Are you applying for a job as a translator? Are you offering to be my guide as we backpack around the world? Most likely not. Mention what’s relevant and be humble on bumble.

Be Humble on Bumble - By Sam Redding