What is Bumble?

If you’re looking for free dating sites in Australia, there are plenty of sites to choose from – but where do you start? This is an online app created in 2014 and has grown to become one of the best-known dating apps in the world. It was created and developed by Whitney Wolf, a previous employee at Tinder, and claims to be a dating site that puts women in control of dating. The dating app also offers an offline magazine – the Bumble Mag, but it is only currently available in the United States. This analysis can help you to understand whether Bumble Australia is right for you.

Pros / Cons
  • One of the biggest sites in the world
  • More women than men on the site
  • Over 6 million worldwide monthly visits
  • Most users aged in 20s and 30s
  • No search option
  • Only women can make the first move
  • Lots of fake profiles
  • Bigger in the USA than in Australia

Membership Base

The site has a huge membership base because the site is available all over the world. The majority of the site’s members are in the USA – however, there are three million users in Australia. The receives visits from all over the world and is one of the few sites that has more female than male users – most likely because female users on the site have many more privileges than males. The site has over 6 million worldwide visits per month, and approximately 700,000 new members join every month. The majority of the site’s users are young, with most members aged between 25 and 34 – although you can find singles from all age groups on the website.

Profiles

Profiles on the site are simple and easy to build – however they are extremely limited and offer little information about members. You don’t need a paid account to see other user profiles – however, all profiles and photos are public by default, making it more difficult to start dating discreetly online. Profiles can be built using your social media information – for example, linking for your Facebook account and any information detailed on your profile can be easily changed later. If you don’t sign up using Facebook, you will need to provide a telephone number to create your account.

Search Features on Bumble.com

There is no search function on the site – making it different from other sites. Instead, members are shown matches based on their preferences and can then decide whether or not they like or dislike the profiles they’re shown. Preferences on the site include age, distance, and sexual preference, meaning it can be frustrating to find the perfect person for you, as you cannot directly search like with more traditional sites. However, this online “speed dating” type of platform is growing in popularity with younger users.

Messaging

Bumble is a unique app in that it puts women in charge of dating rather than men. On Bumble, only women can send the first message – men can only respond to messages they have been sent. The platform works a lot like Tinder, where you swipe left and right based on whether or not you like someone, and when two people like each other, the woman is invited to send a message to her match – if a guy responds, all limits are removed, and the man and woman can chat freely with each other. The app is also available for same-sex couples, and in this instance, either can message first once they have matched on the site. There is a chatroom available on the site for members to also take advantage of.

Free VS Premium

There isn’t a huge difference between what you can do for free and what will cost you money on Bumble, as you have everything you need to start online dating with your free account.

Free:

  • Create profile
  • Chat and message
  • Download app
  • One rematch per day (connections expire after 24 hours if a conversation isn’t started)

Paid:

  • SuperSwipe
  • See who has already swiped you in a list (rather than waiting until they appear)
  • Extend connections for a further 24 hours
  • Rematch with expired connection with no limits

Bumble App

The site offers both a website and a dating app. The app was created before the website, and the app offers a much better user experience than the desktop version of the site due to the features and how they are designed. The app is easy to use, offers a good user experience, and is the preferred way to use the service due to the swiping feature. The app is free to download on all mobile and tablet devices across Google, Android, and iOS app stores, and compatible desktop devices.

Verdict

Whilst Bumble has many users, the site is much more popular in the USA than in Australia, and there are much fewer members in Australia. The site is part of a growing “speed dating” culture and focuses on matching people based on their photos and location rather than creating meaningful connections for lasting relationships. For those looking for a hookup, the site could be a great place to find someone local who’s up for a little fun – but it’s a lot harder to find someone to match with for something serious. The site doesn’t verify users – even when using a Facebook profile to sign up so you can never be 100% sure the person you’re talking to is who they say they are, and there are several fake profiles on the site.

FAQ

Is Bumble a legitimate website?

Yes Bumble is a legitimate website with many users worldwide; however, our analysis found a few suspicious profiles when using the site – but it’s easy to report them to the site’s tech team.

Is Bumble free to use?

The majority of dating site and app’s features are completely free to use – including unlimited chat and messaging options.

Is Bumble any good?

Our Bumble review found the site easy to use and make matches – however, whether it is “good” or not depends on what you want to use the site for, as it is more about creating hookups than meaningful connections and long-term relationships.