• by Colin Kirkland , June 22, 2023

Bumble, the dating app where women make the first move, has announced a separate “BFF” app dedicated to helping people find friends. Bumble For Friends is testing in select UK and Asian markets but will come to the US later this summer.

According to the App Store, “Bumble For Friends” allows users to chat, meet new people and make friends “whether you’re new to your area or just looking to expand your circle.”

A report by Mashable says  BFF represents 15 percent of the app's monthly active users.

BFF is free to use but also provides interested users various premium subscriptions for a week, three months, six months, and a lifetime. The app includes in-app purchases like boosts for increased profile visibility as well as super swipes to be seen by a particular user.

Bumble originally introduced its friend-finding mode in 2016 and began testing a “Hive” feature last year that replaced BFF mode but remained focused on forming a community outside of romantic relationships.

In January, CNBC reported that Bumble's original BFF mode has not proved very lucrative for the dating app, citing Morgan Stanley's 2023 revenue estimate for Bumble being just over $1 billion, with only $1 million coming from BFF and its additional career networking service Bizz.