Bumble teases a swipe-free future as it doubles down on IRL meetups

{
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  "signal_type": "news",
  "signal_subtype": "is_developing",
  "detected_at": "2026-08-06T17:39:47+00:00",
  "company": {
    "name": "Bumble",
    "domain": "bumble.com"
  },
  "data": {
    "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/06/bumble-teases-a-swipe-free-future-as-it-doubles-down-on-irl-meetups/",
    "title": "Bumble teases a swipe-free future as it doubles down on IRL meetups",
    "author": "Sarah Perez",
    "excerpt": "Tinder isn’t the only major dating app turning away from the swipe and toward real-world events to attract Gen Z users who’ve grown tired of traditional online dating. On Wednesday, Bumble touted the early success of its newest app, Plans, designed to connect people “IRL” in low-pressure group settings, and spoke of what comes next for Bumble’s flagship app after the “swipe” is dead. On its second-quarter earnings call with investors, Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said Plans showed “promising results” in early tests over the past few months, and the company would “lean more into real-life experiences” going forward. Combined with Tinder’s news this week that it, too, is doubling down on in-person events , it’s clear there’s a major shift happening in online dating. Simply put, the swipe era is coming to an end. “I am a firm believer that the future of meeting people in groups will become more important. People love to come together in groups and see who they naturally share chemistry with once they have met,” Wolfe Herd told analysts on the call. “Group socializing is a real part of how Gen Z prefers to meet, and we believe Bumble represents a natural bridge from meeting to socializing to then dating.” The company first experimented with real-world, platonic connections with Bumble BFF, an app for making friends, which has shown some traction with Gen Z women. With Plans...",
    "summary": "Bumble is developing a new interaction model to replace the 'swipe' feature in its flagship dating app.",
    "planning": true,
    "image_url": "https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bumble-new-logo.jpg?resize=1200,810",
    "confidence": 0.95,
    "published_at": "2026-08-06T17:39:47Z",
    "article_sentence": "Wolfe Herd also teased that Bumble is working on a new interaction model to replace the swipe entirely."
  }
}

curl https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/signals/a5e13ec4-c1e2-46c4-abb6-0735779b17ff \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY"

curl -X POST https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/companies/enrich \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"domain":"bumble.com","limit":20}'