Bumble Secretly Launches New In-App Express Dating Feature to UK Users

JAKARTA - Bumble, a popular online dating app, has been secretly testing its speed dating feature for its users in the UK.

According to a report from TechCrunch, this feature allows users to join the app at designated nights and times to engage in short chats with other members before they see each other's photos or match each other.

If the chat goes well, members can choose to match to keep the conversation going.

This speed dating feature in Bumble is wrapped up in a game. So, based on the photos uploaded by Watchful, at any given time when you open the app, you'll see "Speed Dating is Live" as the main display.

If you want to join this speed dating, users can click the Play game button. The game starts when the user sees a "Live" icon appear in the Bumble app.

At the first launch, players had to accept a set of dating rules such as “remain respectful” and “don't ask about their appearance” before they could proceed.

Players will be given three minutes to chat with other players near their location before players see each other's photos.

Once the time is up, the players can decide to match and proceed to a private chat.

According to data from product intelligence firm Watchful, Bumble has been offering speed dating starting Thursdays at around 7 pm in the UK.

However, according to several posts by users on social media, this feature often does not have enough users to start the game. However, there are also some positive comments regarding this new feature.