Bumble, Tinder Rethink Swiping as Paying Users Fall 6% and 16.4%

3 articles · Updated · Fortune · Aug 14

Bumble and Match Group are shifting dating apps away from high-volume swiping toward fewer curated matches, stronger conversation prompts and more offline meetups as user growth weakens.
13.3 million Match paying users marked a 6% annual drop, Tinder monthly active users fell 7%, and Bumble paying users slid 16.4% to 3.2 million, underscoring pressure from Gen Z burnout over endless choices and stalled chats.
Bumble has already dropped its women-message-first rule, extended reply windows to 72 hours and is building Bee, an AI matchmaker, while testing a Plans app built around in-person events.
Tinder is expanding its Events tab from 10 cities to 75 by year-end after a Los Angeles pilot drew 71% engagement among eligible 18- to 24-year-olds; Match's Hinge offers a model, with revenue up 22% and users still growing.
The overhaul comes as global dating-app downloads have declined for six straight years since 2019 and category revenue slipped last year to about $6.07 billion, pushing the industry to prioritize better matches over more swipes.