Background
Bumble is a social networking app designed for dating, friendships, and professional networking. It features three distinct modes:
Bumble Date
For finding romantic connections
Bumble BFF
For finding friends
Bumble Bizz
For professional networking
Business Challenges
Bumble’s BFF mode usage is significantly lower than its dating mode.
Around 15% of Bumble's monthly active users were utilizing the "Bumble BFF”.
Bumble’s conversion rate of free users to paying subscribers is relatively low.
As of early 2024, Bumble reported approximately 2.73 million paying users out of an estimated 58 million active users, indicating a conversion rate of about 4.7%.
PM Request + Business Goal
1. Design a new Bumble feature.
2. Boost BFF mode usage.
3. Drive higher conversion rates among non-paying users.
About the Users
72% of Bumble users are under 35.
Most were born between 1989 and 2006 (Millennials and Generation Z).
Their interests include: creativity, sports & fitness, food & drink, going out, movies, music, traveling, and more.
Why Don’t People Engage with Bumble BFF?
I interviewed five students with prior experience using dating apps and conducted affinity diagramming on Bumble BFF user feedback from Reddit, which revealed that:
Bumble BFF lacks visibility and promotion.
Using apps to find friends feels socially awkward.
Few matches and unproductive chats lead to disengagement.
Friendship rejection feels more personal, and ghosting discourages users.
Profile photos dominate, making BFF feel like dating.
Users prefer organic friendships over transactional app interactions.
Why Don’t People Pay for Premium?
Then I conducted another affinity diagramming session to understand users’ frustrations with Bumble’s premium features.
The premium feature displays people who are not within the user’s selected preferences.
Core features are sufficient for finding matches, reducing the incentive to pay for premium.
Beeline, a key premium feature, is not seen as valuable enough to justify its cost.
User Pain Points & Needs
Pain Point 1
Bumble BFF is less known and used, and its features are not unique enough compared to the dating mode.
Need 1
Users need unique, engaging features to clearly differentiate BFF from dating and increase usage.
Pain Point 2
Using an app to find friends feels unnatural and socially awkward.
Need 2
Bumble BFF should feel natural and socially acceptable, reducing stigma and avoiding a transactional experience.
Pain Point 3
Matches rarely lead to meaningful conversations.
Need 3
Users need tools or prompts to help initiate and sustain conversations after matching.
Pain Point 4
Premium features don’t feel valuable enough to justify the cost.
Need 4
Users need premium features that provide unique, meaningful benefits beyond what is already free.
How Might We
How might we create a Bumble BFF experience that feels natural and socially engaging, and motivates users to subscribe?
What if people could connect over music?
Why Music? – User Perspective
Strong audience overlap, high music engagement, and its ability to spark natural connections make music an appealing way to enhance BFF mode.
1. Millennials and Gen Z are prominent users of both Bumble and Spotify.
2. Many in these demographics are music lovers, spending significant daily time on music apps.
3. Shared music interests could offer a natural, low-pressure way to connect.
User Statistics Comparison
Why Music? – Business & Feasibility Perspective
Bumble’s existing Spotify partnership, aligned user base, and low-risk pilot potential position music matching as a practical, strategic growth opportunity.
1. Bumble already integrates with Spotify, providing a strong foundation for deeper feature collaboration.
2. Both platforms share a large, highly engaged Millennial & Gen Z user base, making cross-platform features relevant and impactful.
3. Music matching can be launched as a small-scale pilot to measure engagement and adoption before a broader rollout.
Feature Concept
Tune Match
Recommend a nearby Bumble user who is listening to the same song, album, artist, or genre as you at the moment.
Why Tune Match—From Pain Points to Solutions
1. Exclusive to BFF mode
Increases adoption and clearly differentiates it from dating mode.
2. Effortless interest-based matching
Creates a natural, socially acceptable entry point for conversations.
3. Built-in conversation starter
Helps users initiate and sustain interactions after matching.
4. Premium upsell potential
Enables exclusive music-matching features for subscribers, adding value beyond the free experience.
User Flow
Final Design
iOS
Music Sync + Match Preferences + Turn On/Off Tune Match
Music Sync
Connect your music app account to Bumble.
Match Preferences
Customize how you’d like to be matched with others.
- Distance: 0-5 miles away
- Match By: Same Song, Same Album, Same Artist, Same Genre
- Relative Time: now-24 hours ago
Notification
Using Bumble
Receive a sound notification and see the recommended user.
Not Using Bumble
Receive both text and sound notifications.
A Tune Match!
A Tune Match!
When a tune match occurs, see your match’s profile, their distance from you, the music they’re listening to, and the time they’re listening to it.
Send a Message
Chat with your match right away.
Save Profile for Later
Save your match’s profile to Tune Match History and check it later.
Tune Spark + Tune Jam Suggestion
Tune Spark
Provide a conversation starter to help users begin a conversation, with the option to regenerate it if needed.
Tune Jam Suggestion
If the conversation goes well, suggest trying the Tune Jam feature.
Tune Jam (Premium Feature)
Tune Jam + Switch Playlist
Share music with your match in real-time and listen together. Switch to the other person’s playlist if needed.
Tune Jam Retention
Keep the progress of Tune Jam while exiting the interface and continue chatting.
Tune Match History + Top Match of the Month (Premium Feature)
Sort Profiles By
Sort matched profiles by most matches, most recent, and nearest.
Top Match of the Month
See who you’ve matched with the most over the past month.
Profile + Tune Match Details (Premium Feature)
Tune Match Details
See the details of your Tune Match, including the number of matches, shared music, match times/dates, and relative distance.
Premium Features
Tune Jam
Share music with your match in real-time and listen together.
Top Match of the Month
See who you’ve matched with the most this month.
Tune Match Details
See the details of your Tune Matches, including shared music, match times, and relative distance.
watchOS
Notification
Music Sync + Match Preferences + Turn On/Off Tune Match
A Tune Match! + Send a Message
Tune Jam
macOS
Turn On/Off Tune Match
Match Preferences
A Tune Match!
Send a Message
Tune Jam
Tune Match History
