Getting to know people, having friends, and meeting prospective business partners and professionals in your field of study have become even better with technology. Apps like Bumble help you find romantic partners, discover friends you chat with 24/7, or even connect you with a business partner or mentor.
As these apps continue to increase in user base, so do their security and safety concerns. If you’re here, you’re probably considering joining Bumble and want to know how cautious you have to be and what to expect.
Luckily, you’re at the right place. We’ve tried and reviewed Bumble to find all its security strengths and shortcomings to determine its safety. Keep reading to know what you’ll get using this fast-growing dating and friendship app.
What is Bumble?
Bumble is a popular dating and social network platform known for forming safe and meaningful connections. It allows you to find dates, make friends, develop new relationships, and find business mentorship.
Bumble aims to rule out the traditional norms of dating, which is the male gender making the first move in starting a relationship. It not only allows the female gender to make the first move but also enforces it by restricting male users. This gives the woman a level of control, ensuring they only connect with those they want, potentially leading to long-lasting relationships.
This platform also makes creating safe and healthy connections and networks easy for all users. It encourages positive values like integrity, kindness, respect, equality, and confidence during all stages of any relationship. It has various features, like backtracking on someone you accidentally matched with, extending the time on a match with someone you are interested in, or rematching with an expired connection.
Is it Safe to Use Bumble?
Online safety is one of the most important issues dating apps like Bumble face. From concerns about your data getting hacked to the possibility of you chatting with a catfish account, there’s an endless list of safety concerns for Bumble users. However, getting a quality VPN like ExtremeVPN solves most of these concerns.
ExtremeVPN ensures your online safety by encrypting your data so that no one knows who you are or where you’re sending your information except those with whom you share yourself. It utilizes state-of-the-art VPN technology to eliminate the threats and risks associated with cybercrime.
Things to Consider When Using Bumble
The Bumble app provides a security protocol for its users, but you must be extremely cautious with the information you upload on your profile. The platform allows users to register a new account using their phone number or Facebook account. For extra privacy, make sure to use your phone number or even a separate number when signing up on Bumble. It is not advisable to use your Facebook account because you’ll be giving cybercriminals a direct route to your personal information if your account were to get hacked.
The dating site also has a photo verification feature for every user to ensure they are who they claim to be. This primarily exists to limit the occurrence of people creating fake profiles. However, no system is perfectly foolproof, and hackers, spammers, and catfish accounts will find a way to bypass this.
Bumble also has guidelines that prohibit the use of hate speech, bullying, and misogyny, which are set up by the community and followed by the users. Failure to adhere to these guidelines could see your access to your account stripped and your account ultimately deleted. Lastly, the site has built-in chat and voice calls that make matching with dates safe. Here, you do not have to give any personal information until you are ready to do so.
What are the Biggest Dangers of Using Bumble?
Bumble is an online dating app committed to safety, but you should be aware of the dangers associated with using the app. People get on the app with various motives and intentions. We are listing down some of the dangers Bumble users should be aware of:
Cyberstalking
This is when someone constantly monitors you online in a way that makes you feel disturbed, awkward, or troublesome. They may constantly stalk you through different sites or apps to uncover sensitive information about you or find out what you’ve been up to. These people actually ask for your attention. Hence, they keep posting things about you or continue reacting to every one of your posts despite your clear disinterest in them.
Here are a few steps to reduce the risk of cyberstalking:
- Set strong passwords or passcodes.
- Turn off location services and restrict access to GPS data.
- Set your online accounts to private.
- Regular update of your software.
Online Dating Fraud
Dating apps are no exception to scammers. This is where they often spread their wings. They are aware of the other person’s needs and use that to their advantage by making them invest in illegal businesses, asking for money, gift cards, and information they can use to commit financial fraud.
Online dating fraud typically follows a single pattern:
- The scammer creates a fake profile.
- Once matched, the scammer makes false promises about their intentions or misleads their target about who they are.
- After gaining the other person’s trust, they ask for gifts, money, or personal details.
- They cancel meetings or dates at the last minute and lie about why they did that.
Catfishing
This describes people with fake online dating profiles who exhibit what they are, not just to exploit people who are interested in them. They make use of attractive profile photos to lure people into relationships. They feel too good to be true at first glance, but the person being catfished shakes off the feeling just because of the level the relationship has attained.
Online catfishers use stolen pictures as their profile picture on virtually all social media platforms. Since they’re stealing someone else’s identity, their profile often consists of a few pictures to avoid disclosing who they are. They reject video chats, but when they eventually do, their camera appears broken or will only show a quick, low-quality, and dark video.
Online Dating Addiction
There’s a growing addiction to dating apps, which harms mental health. Obsession and compulsion are problematic behaviors enhanced through online dating apps in vulnerable users. You find out that you are compulsively swiping through potential matches, obsessing over what they would look like in person and whether they will like you or not. The best way to deal with online dating addiction is to limit the time spent on dating apps.
What are the Pros and Cons of Using Bumble?
Bumble, like every other dating app, has its advantages and disadvantages. Here, you’ll discover the pros and cons of this app.
Pros
- Strong data encryption
- Photo verification features.
- Fully functional free version
- Secure payment methods (credit cards and PayPal).
- Removal of fake profiles and spam accounts.
- Routine app vulnerability checks.
- The app does not display ads.
- The app is verified by Google Play Protect.
Cons
- If you signed in via a Facebook account, your account might be in danger if your Facebook account gets hacked.
- Possibility of encountering fake profiles like spammers and catfishers
Can Someone Track Me on Bumble?
Technically, anyone can use the information you provide on Bumble to track you if they’re keen enough. That’s why keeping your sensitive details to yourself without uploading them to your Bumble account is important, as it contributes to your safety. If you do not add personal information to your profile, such as your home address or photos of your house, other users might find it more difficult to track you on Bumble. They would only see your location, consisting of your city and geographical distance.
Bumble provides two location tracking choices to provide people with relevant matches, which are:
- While using the app: Your location will only be updated when you actively use the Bumble app.
- Always: Your location will be constantly updated even when not using the Bumble app. The application will be running in the background.
What Should I Not Put on My Bumble Profile?
There are numerous details about you that you should avoid adding to your Bumble profile to ensure your safety and security. These are typically personal information with which someone may track you. The following is a list of what you should avoid putting on Bumble:
- Don’t use your full name on your profile – Your first name or even a nickname is enough. Bumble is a place to connect with strangers with whom you hope to build relationships in the long run. As such, the level of information anyone has about you should relate directly to how much they know you.
- Avoid adding links to other social media – Doing this simply defeats the purpose of the first item in this list. Not using your full name is most effective if users have no other means of discovering this detail. However, if you need to add a link to any of your other social media accounts, link to one where you haven’t shared any personal details.
- Remove personal and sensitive items from your photos – Check your pictures well to ensure items like ID, debit, and credit cards aren’t there. Stalkers and even hackers are always looking for opportunities, and an act like this may enable them.
- Remove your home address from your profile – It’s standard practice on dating apps to include your city in your profile. If someone shows great promise, engage them until you ultimately move communications beyond Bumble. You may consider disclosing your address when you develop that much trust in them.
- Don’t add any financial details to your profile – Your bio can be witty and creative, but be careful not to add anything about your finances and net worth. At the same time, never share financial information with strangers in chats. Don’t add your PayPal and Venmo to your profile. Bumble already prohibits that, but doing so can also greatly compromise your safety and privacy.
Additionally, there are also common mistakes people make that often lead to data breaches. This includes connecting to public WiFi without a VPN or refusing to update your software when the app sends it. Ensure you avoid mistakes like this.
What is Bumble BFF?
Bumble BFF is a feature within the main Bumble app for finding virtually any kind of friends. Whether you just moved to a new city or are looking for someone to chat with 24/7, Bumble BFF makes having friends fun and easy. The main Bumble app has a BFF button that you can toggle on and off to get Bumble BFF’s experience.
Is Bumble BFF Secure?
There’s not much difference between Bumble BFF and Bumble, except that you use the first to form platonic relationships. In terms of privacy and security, both carry the same level of risk. Bumble goes the extra mile with BFF, allowing you to only match with people your gender. While this makes it less intimidating and creepy, you still have to be cautious. People are not always who they claim to be behind the keyboard.
So, all safety precautions that apply to using regular Bumble also apply here. Avoid giving overly descriptive details about yourself and disclosing sensitive information. If you’re certain that someone isn’t who they claim to be on the app or have a hidden agenda, be sure to report them. Besides keeping you safe, this also prevents other unsuspecting users from falling into the hands of that individual.
Bumble and Incognito Mode
As someone who places great emphasis on security, you may start wondering whether Bumble has a privacy mode. Here, you’ll discover the answer to every question regarding Bumble’s privacy mode.
Does Bumble have Incognito Mode? How Does it Work?
Incognito Mode is what Bumble calls its privacy feature. When activated, you have a more streamlined and exclusive experience with the app. It gives you more control by putting you in charge so that you can only be seen by people you choose and connect with only those you want.
Bumble’s Incognito Mode hides your profile from casual and every day Bumble users. The only people who’ll see your profile are those you swipe right on. Since you’ve now limited how easily accessible you are, Incognito Mode raises the chances of connecting with people with your interests.
How Can I Get Bumble’s Incognito Mode?
Incognito Mode is an exclusive feature available only to premium subscribers. Below are steps showing how to get and use it:
- Subscribe to Bumble Premium by clicking the “Upgrade to Premium” button at the bottom of your screen. Alternatively, you can head to the gray silhouette in the lower left-hand corner of the screen and select the option to buy Bumble Premium.
- Visit your profile by tapping on the icon at the lower left of your screen.
- Find “Setting” and scroll down.
- Enable Incognito Mode in settings.
Is Using Bumble Incognito’s Mode Worth it?
Users with genuine reasons for buying Bumble Premium and using Incognito Mode might say it’s worth it. This mode makes it possible to stay safe on Bumble and keep your profile and whatever you share in it, including your photos, private.
Most people also want to keep whatever they do on dating apps separate and away from their real-life friends and acquaintances. Incognito Mode makes that straightforward.
How Much Does Bumble Cost?
Bumble developers employed the freemium model for the app, which you can download from app stores. The dating application is generally free; however, you need to pay to unlock advanced functionalities within the app.
There are generally two paid upgrades available, unlocking different degrees of functionalities. The next section will explain their perks, while this only focuses on their costs:
Bumble Boost
- $11.99/week
Bumble Premium
- $39.99 for one month
- $229.99 for a lifetime subscription.
Bumble Premium Perks
Buying Bumble Boost or Premium allows you to unlock many features that completely transform your experience.
The perks you unlock for Bumble Boost include:
- Backtrack to undo swiping left on someone accidentally
- Option to extend time on your ongoing matches in date and BFF modes
- Unlimited swipes
- One Spotlight every week, enabling you to be viewable by more people instantly
- Five SuperSwipes every week so that you can better tell people that you have a serious interest in them
Spotlight and SuperSwipes expire and renew weekly, so ensure you use them while you have them.
The perks you unlock for Bumble Premium include:
- Unlimited access to advanced filters
- You can check your admirers by having access to your Beeline
- Travel mode to instantly form connections when traveling (this feature is unavailable on Bumble Web)
- Backtrack
- Option to extend time on your ongoing matches
- Ability to Rematch with old users
- Unlimited swipes
- One Spotlight every week
- Five SuperSwipes every week
- Incognito Mode (this feature is unavailable on Bumble Web)
Conclusion
The overall experience with Bumble shows that the developers care about the safety and security of their users. Although they have made various features available, these are not perfect, and, ultimately, your safety and security still rely on you. Be cautious on the app and subscribe to ExtremeVPN to stay secure.
FAQs
