The founder of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd, returns as CEO amid the decline of dating apps.
The current CEO, Lidiane Jones, has submitted her resignation for "personal reasons."
Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of Bumble, will return to her position as CEO in mid-March 2024, after stepping down earlier that year. Lidiane Jones, who took over the CEO position in Wolfe Herd's absence, has resigned for "personal reasons" and will remain in the role until Wolfe Herd takes over again.
In a statement, Wolfe Herd expressed, “As I step back into the role of CEO, I am motivated and fully committed to the success of Bumble, our mission to create meaningful and equitable connections, as well as the opportunities in front of us.” She also highlighted that the company is about to embark on an exciting phase of innovation.
Bumble has gained popularity largely due to its design, which allowed women to be the first to send messages to their matches. However, in April, a redesign was implemented that introduced a new feature allowing men to send the first message in response to predefined questions. This change was announced following a series of layoffs that the company justified as a measure to "better align its operating model with future strategic priorities." Nonetheless, the value of its shares has fallen by more than half since the redesign.
Dating apps have faced challenges recently, especially after the controversy surrounding a "Bumble fumble" advertisement for which the company apologized last year. Meanwhile, Match Group, owner of Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and other services, reported a decline in its user base. In its latest quarterly report, Bumble reported an increase in paying users, which rose from 3.8 million to 4.3 million over the past year; however, the average revenue per paying user fell from $23.42 to $21.17, and total revenue also experienced a slight decline.
A 2023 Pew Research survey revealed that 52 percent of respondents believed they had encountered a scammer on dating sites and apps, and 51 percent of women reported having negative experiences. In the UK, a previous Ofcom report indicated that the use of the three largest dating services had decreased in 2023, and survey data suggests that Gen Z users are not using these apps as frequently.