Bumble pushes beyond swiping with new group-meetup app and hints at swipe-free redesign

Bumble announced that its recently launched Plans app is delivering early positive results and said the company will focus more on in-person group events, while also teasing a future swipe-free interaction model.

Bumble used its Q2 earnings call to highlight the early success of Plans, a newly introduced app that facilitates small-group meetups such as drinks or dinners, aiming to help users build friendships that could evolve into romance. CEO Whitney Wolfe Heard said the experiment aligns with Gen Z’s preference for meeting people in groups rather than through individual swipes. She noted that Plans lets participants continue conversations within Bumble without exchanging phone numbers, reducing first-date pressure.

Wolfe Heard also revealed that Bumble is developing a new interaction system to eventually replace the swipe, focusing on fewer, more intentional signals and leveraging AI to improve match quality, though she declined to disclose specifics. Despite the optimistic product news, Bumble’s revenue dropped 15.2% to $210.5 million compared with the prior year, and the stock fell after the company projected a decline in paying customers for the upcoming quarter.