Bumble drops women-first messaging rule to boost engagement

Bumble is a dating app where grown-ups meet new people.

For a long time, Bumble had a special rule: when a man and a woman matched, only the woman could send the first message.

Now Bumble is changing that rule so either person can start the conversation.

The app is also giving people three days to reply to a match instead of just one day.

Bumble tried these changes in Canada first, where more conversations started and fewer chats expired.

In a survey, 66% of women said they actually prefer when men make the first move.

Bumble is making these changes because fewer people have been paying for the app and it made less money this year than last.

The company is also thinking about removing swiping and adding artificial intelligence tools to make dating more fun.

Bumble's founder and CEO says the goal is to help people make real, meaningful connections with less pressure and more flexibility.