Last week, Bumble announced it was removing the Opening Moves feature in Mexico and Australia. This feature has been automatically removed for those users.
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Opening moves were introduced in 2024 as a way for men to send the first message to women and were advertised as a way to reduce fatigue with dating apps. The company’s former CEO Lydian Jones led the charge, taking over from founder and first CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, who returned to the CEO role shortly after Jones remained in the position for only one year.
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While the reputation of dating apps overall has been declining in recent years due to burnout and bad actors, Bumble has been particularly affected financially. The company laid off 30 percent of its workforce last year, and at the time of this writing its stock price has fallen 95 percent from its IPO.
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Even amid the legal challenges, Bumble seems to be returning to its original ethos. reviewer Bumble introduced the opening moves following lawsuits and legal threats in California claiming the app discriminates against men, according to sources familiar with the matter, the report said. reviewer states that the company is beginning to remove opening moves in Australia and Mexico due to lower legal risks in those markets.
“At Bumble, we regularly test and innovate our features to foster healthy, respectful relationships while staying true to our women-first mission and prioritizing member safety,” a Bumble spokesperson told Mashable. “Supporting our community from matches to messages is a vital part of that work. As with all trials, we evaluate our learnings before considering a broader rollout, ensuring that any changes continue to meet the needs of our community and provide a positive experience for our members.”
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