‘A lot of effort to get one date’: Bumble app makes women’s first move easier

Bumble says it wants to relieve the administrative burden on its female users, who initiate contract with potential dates. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

“In the end it was the data that killed me,” says Penny* about her decision to leave the dating app Bumble. If she opened the app she might receive 100 likes, 25% of which she might be interested in. She would look at their profiles and write individualised messages; a few would respond, perhaps one would result in a date.

“That’s a lot of effort to get one date,” she says. “It’s exhausting.”