Bumble Could Provide Message Ghostwriters, says VP of Marketing
Louise Troen, VP of marketing at Bumble, has spoken to GQ Magazine about the dating assistant and message ghostwriting service VIDA Select.
VIDA employs creative writing professionals to control its clients’ dating app profiles, with the goal of setting them up on dates.
When asked whether Bumble would ever consider offering a similar service to its users, Troen said: “If our clients wanted it (…) But it would have to be regulated and done in-house.”
The answer surprised the authors of the GQ piece, who felt that it contradicted statements made by Troen earlier in the conversation.
She had said of businesses such as VIDA: “I think this is really dangerous (…) These companies are essentially leveraging and capitalising on people’s vulnerability and that’s something Bumble will address accordingly.
“Being held accountable for the things you say and the actions you take is Bumble’s number one [priority] and if the messages aren’t from you, then you can’t be held accountable. That really worries me.”
Troen also emphasised how Bumble was combatting “side-hustle” businesses by offering in-house alternatives, however, using the example of profile doctoring.
The feminist app recently hired a ‘ghosting expert’ to help publicise the mental health impacts of singles suddenly cutting off communication with their matches.
CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd is also campaigning for the unsolicited sending of lewd images to be considered as a criminal offence.
Read more here.