Trending Now Say More Look Up In My Bag Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable @Home Mashable Selects Top creators, ranked Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Creator Playbook AI at School Safety Net All Series Just give your @ for someone to find you on Bumble. 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 Instagram .

Say More Look Up In My Bag Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable @Home Trending Now Mashable Selects Top creators, ranked Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Creator Playbook AI at School Safety Net All Series Bumble is getting acquired for $1.3 billion. How will this change the app? The app is going private, five years since its IPO. 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.

Shares in dating app company Bumble soared by almost 50% on Monday after a report that it is in advanced talks to be bought for around $1bn (£757m). Technology holding company Ithaca could announce a deal to buy the Texas-based firm as early as this week, according to the Wall Street Journal. The jump in Bumble's shares pushed its stock market valuation to over $580m but that is still far below a peak of more than $14bn it reached after listing on the Nasdaq in 2021 . Bumble is one of the world's most downloaded dating apps, operating in a crowded market where growth has slowed. The BBC has contacted Bumble and Ithaca for comment.

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 .

Bumble, the company that distinguished itself from apps like Tinder by creating a "feminist dating app," hasn't done too many favors for that brand recently. Yes, there was the ad campaign that appeared to shame women who choose celibacy--which the company wisely retracted this week. There was also the tentative announcement that Bumble may roll back its defining "women make the first move" ethos. Then there were the strange remarks last week from Bumble founder and #girlboss icon Whitney Wolfe Herd, who informed the audience at Bloomberg's Tech Summit of "a world where your dating concierge could go and date for you with another dating concierge." Naturally, these "concierges" would make use of artificial intelligence software, which users could train by "shar[ing] your insecurities" and thus help to "train yourself into a better way of thinking about yourself," Wolfe Herd claimed.

Dating app Badoo has launched a'Rude Message Detector' that will automatically flag any insulting, discriminatory or overly sexual messages. The tool uses machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence (AI), to distinguish between'banter' and actual verbal abuse, such as'identity hate' towards transgender people. It's able to identify abusive or hurtful messages sent between chat partners in real time, and then gives users the option to immediately block and report them. Badoo, which has been described as'like Facebook but for sex', says the tool is one of the latest steps in its'wider commitment to safety'. It's been rolled out for all Badoo users worldwide, whether or not they're chatting to a man or a woman.