Overview
- Bumble announced on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 that anyone in a match can now send the opening message and that reply windows have been extended from 24 hours to 72 hours.
- The company removed its Opening Moves feature and will prompt users who try to send low-effort openers, such as one-word greetings, to write something more thoughtful before sending.
- Bumble said tests in Canada and user surveys drove the change, with trials showing higher chat starts, fewer expired matches and 92 percent of women in the pilot still reporting they felt in control.
- The update follows a period of weakening results for the company, including a recent quarterly revenue decline of about 15 percent and guidance for fewer paying users, which Bumble says the product changes aim to address.
- The shift continues a gradual loosening of the original rule that began in 2022 for nonbinary users and with 2024’s Opening Moves, and it is part of a broader roadmap that includes swipe-free experiments, a standalone Plans app and an AI assistant called Bee.