Bumble Hints At Bumble BFF Rebrand

After reviewing their Q2 earnings, Bumble has hinted at the revamp of their ‘Bumble BFF’ friend-finding feature. They have been testing new ‘communities’ they are calling ‘Hive’ which may include features such as group chats, polls and video calls.

Bumble briefly mentioned the ‘Hive’ plans on the Q2 2022 earnings all with the investors, describing it as the ‘next generation offering’ which helps people find ‘platonic connections through small communities’.

“As we have shared before, our approach is built on the insight that people want to find friends, acquaintances and connections through shared struggles and common joys: moving to a new city, navigating parenthood, finding a partner for hiking, or really anything else in between,” founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd told investors.

The alpha stages of Bumble BFF testing is active in Greater Toronto and thousands of communities have been created since,

The platonic social network is one that the company believes could assist in finding engagement beyond online dating. In this testing stage, Bumble noted the number of sessions for BFF members increased by two-thirds, and their weekly time spent in-app was up 13%.

BFF members can create profiles, join interest groups led by admins, publish posts, engage in group chats, create and respond to polls and much more.

Video and audio has been tested in order to enhance member profiles with ‘richer and more dynamic’ content. 

Bumble’s latest updates aim to address the shift in Gen Z users who seem to embrace apps that allow them to spend time ‘hanging out’ online.