The app now allows men to make the first move, suggesting its women-first positioning was limiting growth. It joins other dating apps now throwing everything at the wall in a bid to stay relevant. Not even 24 hours after dating app Bumble announced it was getting rid of its trademark feature that requires women to make the first move, Robin H.'s inbox was already attracting unwanted attention. "This guy responded to my prompt, and he wasn't a person I would have swiped on. I can't believe some of these men think we're a match," the 53-year-old social worker in Orlando, Florida, tells WIRED.

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Look Up Say More Safety Net Creator Hub Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Mashable Selects Switch Off Trending Now In My Bag VidCon with Mashable All Series Here are the best apps for finding a casual, low-stress connection this summer. Tabitha Britt is an award-winning freelance journalist, editor, and SEO/AEO strategist. Aside from reviewing dating apps and sex toys for Mashable, Tabitha is also the founding editor-in-chief of DO YOU ENDO -- a digital magazine by individuals with endometriosis, for individuals with endometriosis. She has a Master's degree in Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism from The New School for Social Research and is a grad of Sextech School. You can find more of her work in various online publications, including,, and . Editors and writers independently select products unless marked Sponsored or Promoted. Sponsored content is a paid ad, while content marked Promoted is chosen by Ziff Davis leadership. We may earn an affiliate commission if you buy through our links. Promoted cards do not include input from individual authors. These are the tech, tools, and products -- from laptops to e-readers, from earbuds to robovacs, and more -- that Mashable ranks best in class. In the age of on-demand everything, it's no surprise that we can get dates (and I use that term loosely) with the tap of a button. Thanks to classic hookup apps like Tinder and newcomers like Pure, finding a sexy new friend can be as straightforward as ordering a pizza. That's about the same as your pizza -- hit or miss, depending on the time of day, where you're located, and how you are. SEE ALSO: Is AdultFriendFinder the best dating site for Gen Z? Fortunately, you've got me, your resident dating app expert (though I prefer modern-day Carrie Bradshaw), to guide you to the promised land, aka the best hookup apps. I've spent the past three years (yes, years) researching, downloading, and testing dozens of the top dating apps to find the best ones for all kinds of daters, including the one-night-stand crowd. I also consulted a helpful panel of sex and relationship experts to make sure my picks are solid. My number one rule is to be brutally honest about what you want. Are you here for a good time?

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Look Up Say More Safety Net Creator Hub Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Mashable Selects Switch Off Trending Now In My Bag VidCon with Mashable All Series We tested the safest, most effective apps for finding a real partner. Tabitha Britt is an award-winning freelance journalist, editor, and SEO/AEO strategist. Aside from reviewing dating apps and sex toys for Mashable, Tabitha is also the founding editor-in-chief of DO YOU ENDO -- a digital magazine by individuals with endometriosis, for individuals with endometriosis. She has a Master's degree in Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism from The New School for Social Research and is a grad of Sextech School. You can find more of her work in various online publications, including,, and . Editors and writers independently select products unless marked Sponsored or Promoted. Sponsored content is a paid ad, while content marked Promoted is chosen by Ziff Davis leadership. We may earn an affiliate commission if you buy through our links. Promoted cards do not include input from individual authors. These are the tech, tools, and products -- from laptops to e-readers, from earbuds to robovacs, and more -- that Mashable ranks best in class. Being a woman on the internet has never been easy, but trying to find a genuine connection on a dating app in 2026? Between the emboldened creeps, the swipe fatigue, and surprisingly convincing AI profiles, it's enough to make you wonder if applying for is the more sane alternative. The reality is, dating right now comes with a set of challenges --especially when it comes to safety. A 2026 survey from SSRS found that 55 percent of women believe meeting someone in person from a dating app is unsafe, compared to just 30 percent of men. We're dealing with a constant barrage of low-effort hey messages, unsolicited dick pics, men who are married, and the underlying safety concerns men just don't have to think about .

Bumble has abandoned its proposition that women make the first move - and is about to ditch the swipe. Bumble has abandoned its proposition that women make the first move - and is about to ditch the swipe. As online dating goes into'salvage mode', can AI solve all its problems? Dating apps such as Bumble forced to adapt as'swipe fatigue' grows B umble was supposed to be different. When it launched in 2014, it offered women a simple proposition: if you matched with a man, you had to make the first move. The rule was meant to make online dating safer and less intimidating, while giving women control over who got to speak first.

Bumble divides users by ditching its signature'women-first' chat rule Dating app Bumble has divided its users by dropping its signature rule which allowed only women to send the first message to a match. When the app launched 2014, founder and boss Whitney Wolfe Herd said it distinguished itself from rivals like Tinder by allowing women to make the first move. But the thing that made Bumble famous will now be ditched following a trial which showed more engagement - and a survey among users which found 66% of women prefer men to send the first message. Reaction across online forums has highlighted a divide among users about whether the update will get more people using Bumble - or if it makes it just like any other dating app. Previously, only same-sex relationships did not have to follow the strict women-first rule.

You're viewing the US edition You can switch to the UK or AU homepage at any time using this menu. Woke NYC mayor humiliated by NYPD after suggesting his'private' wife should have taxpayer-funded police bodyguards for trip to Syria Huge legal win for surrogate who refuses to abort baby with heart defect despite biological parents' wishes as Texas Attorney General steps in The REAL story behind those videos of David Foster awkwardly'snubbing' Meghan Markle at charity event: 'He's always been a big fan of Diana' I've examined thousands of penises as a urologist and seen every size. Here's what REALLY counts as small... the true average length... and'growing' treatment that actually works: DR ARTHUR BURNETT Devastating full horror of Perez Hilton's knife livestream unravels: Friends reveal tragic life-long disfigurement... what star is admitting from hospital bed... and why he may now be locked up for YEARS Teen mum's haunting final post before she died outside her cell in feared women's prison - as unseen photos and videos reveal shocking decline that left family begging her to get help John Hinckley Jr shares new message for Jodie Foster... 45 years after he shot Ronald Reagan to impress her Trump says plane he flew on after secret swap off Air Force One'was at greater risk' as he explains why he switched Trump is going against'decades of evidence' with his bid to overhaul child vaccination, WHO chief warns New MAGA'It' girl reveals truth about those viral rumors as Oval Office controversy explodes Trump's power rattled as notorious ex-crack addict LOSES by 13 points in governor race Chilling Lindsay Clancy trial question that should shake the entire nation: Top defense attorney's twist in killer mom case I've read my husband's texts to his male'gym buddy'. I feared I'd been betrayed... but this is almost too devastating for words: DEAR JANE Florida caregiver charged after dementia patient's dead body was found naked at the side of a road Caitlin Clark admits her own fans' behavior made her'sick' as WNBA star helps fire Fever to record win after coach's explosive rant Woke Roseanne star says show was RIGHTFULLY CANCELED over racism scandal as he slams'ignorant' fans Bumble users are FURIOUS as the app ditches women-first rule and allows men to make the first move - as one dubs it'Tinder 2.0' READ MORE: Dating apps keep singles swiping rather than finding'The One' Bumble has enraged its users after announcing a dramatic U-turn on its women-first rule. The app shot to fame more than a decade ago thanks to its new approach to dating, which meant that only women could message men first.

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Look Up Say More Creator Hub Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Mashable Selects Versus Switch Off Trending Now Safety Net In My Bag VidCon with Mashable All Series A massive update comes to Bumble today. Anna Iovine is the associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review. Follow her on Bluesky .

Bumble is making a big change to how messaging between matches works in its dating app. Rather than requiring a match of a specific gender to message first -- Bumble launched with a "women message first" setup -- now any person of any gender can send the first message, but the conversation doesn't open until the other person chooses to reply. Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble's founder and current CEO, teased that the company was doing away with strict gendered rules around messaging in May, but the actual implementation goes a bit further. To encourage users to avoid lazy one-word openers, Bumble will now detect when users are trying to send a one-word message and nudge them with an onscreen prompt to write a more intentional first message. The research the company shared alongside its announcement is specifically focused on male and female users, but it does sound like the rule change should create better outcomes overall.

Look Up Say More Versus Creator Hub Switch Off Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Trending Now Safety Net In My Bag VidCon with Mashable Back to School Furtastic All Series It's a marked shift from the app where women make the first move. Anna Iovine is the associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review. Follow her on Bluesky .

Look Up Say More Versus Creator Hub Switch Off Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Trending Now Safety Net In My Bag VidCon with Mashable Back to School Furtastic All Series Find love for the summer -- or forever. Anna Iovine is the associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review. Follow her on Bluesky . Bethany Allard is a Los Angeles-based shopping reporter at Mashable covering beauty tech, dating, sex and relationships, and headphones. That basically means she puts her hair through a lot, scrolls through a lot of dating apps, and rotates through a lot of different headphones. In addition to testing out and rounding up the best products, she also covers deals for Mashable, paying an especially obsessive amount of attention to Apple deals and prices. That knowledge comes in handy when she's covering shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday, which she's now done for three years at Mashable. Tabitha Britt is an award-winning freelance journalist, editor, and SEO/AEO strategist. Aside from reviewing dating apps and sex toys for Mashable, Tabitha is also the founding editor-in-chief of DO YOU ENDO -- a digital magazine by individuals with endometriosis, for individuals with endometriosis. She has a Master's degree in Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism from The New School for Social Research and is a grad of Sextech School.