Bumble Announces BFF Relaunch and Incoginito Mode at J.P. Morgan Event

Bumble’s CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd and CFO Anu Subramanian took part in a fireside chat at last week’s J.P. Morgan 49th Annual Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference.

The pair spoke about how the pandemic accelerated the development of virtual dating, the company’s international expansion and how the first few months as a publicly-traded entity has gone.

One of the most interesting points that was raised was Bumble’s plans to relaunch its BFF mode, the option for users to find new platonic relationships. This is especially useful for young people moving to a new city or to find social opportunities based on their interests and hobbies.

The CEO didn’t reveal exactly what the relaunch was going to look like, but she explained that it will be easier for users to find the mode inside the app, while also acting as an onboarding device for the main dating service. Approximately 10% of Bumble daters are currently using the friend-finding service.

Wolfe Herd explained: “We’re in the midst of rebuilding this feature right now. We’re very excited about it, I’m very hands on, we’re all very committed to this!

“We hope to roll this out in a really robust, seamless relaunched capacity which we believe is the future of friendship. And we believe that it is also an incredible on-ramp into dating.”

Another announcement from the session is that a new privacy feature for women is in the works. ‘Incognito Mode’ will allow female users to access the app without being seen, and only becoming visible to the men who they’ve liked.

It was inspired by a variety of high-profile, shy and divorced women who didn’t want to publicly put themselves out there and show the world that they’re on a dating app.

‘Incognito Mode’ is set to be part of Bumble Premium, the higher price subscription service which is due to be fully rolled out to iOS and Android users by the end of Q3.

Listen to the full webcast here.