The Bumble logo. Photo via Facebook.com/GetBumbleApp
Three former Tinder employees are launching an app to rival the appearance based match-making software.
According to TechCrunch, the trio includes Whitney Wolfe, who earlier this year sued Tinder for sexual harassment and workplace discrimination. During her time with the company, Wolfe began a relationship with co-founder and CMO Justin Mateen that turned sour. The case was eventually settled out of court.
Along with fellow early Tinder employees, Chris Gulczynski and Sarah Mick, Wolfe has unveiled Bumble, and the group appear to be aggressively targeting Tinder’s user base with promises that their software does what “more shallow apps” don’t. That means that Bumble won’t encourage people to connect with others solely on their photographs, but other relevant information.
According to the app’s Facebook page, “Bumble is the proper place to meet people. It’s everything you’ve always wanted from a social discovery app with none of the things you don’t.”
“Other apps are full of creepy guys and cheesy pickup lines – but Bumble promotes a safe and respectful community. You’ll never get unwanted messages and Bumble suggests matches based on more relevant signals than other, more shallow apps. So stop wasting time finding tons of dead end matches on other apps and switch to Bumble. “
Bumble will be available to download on 1 December.
A campaign was recently launched by the Immigrant Council of Ireland that utilised Tinder to confront users with the realities of sex trafficking in this country. Developed by digital advertising agency eightytwenty, a large number of Tinder profiles were created that tell example stories of victims. The profiles appear genuine at first, but as users swipe through each picture, they see the impact of sex trafficking and messages relating to the issue.
