Bumble BFF Redesign: Now Focused on Friend Groups & Community
▼ Summary
– Bumble has relaunched its Bumble For Friends app to help users connect beyond one-on-one matching, targeting younger generations seeking to expand their social circles.
– The app is built on the Geneva platform, which Bumble acquired last year and will now shut down due to its lack of revenue generation as of June 30, 2025.
– Existing Geneva members will be automatically upgraded to BFF without losing groups or messages, and the app retains one-on-one matching but adds a new Groups tab for community engagement.
– The Groups feature enables chat rooms, event planning, and an in-app calendar, though full discovery functionality will not be available until February 2026.
– This relaunch aims to keep Bumble competitive amid a surge in friendship apps and reflects user demand for expanding social networks, while the company faces a 7.6% year-over-year revenue decline.
Bumble has just unveiled a major redesign for its BFF platform, shifting its focus toward friend groups and community building rather than purely individual connections. This strategic update arrives as younger users increasingly look for meaningful ways to expand their social circles beyond traditional one-on-one interactions.
The relaunch is built on technology from Geneva, a community-centered platform Bumble acquired last year. Following the integration, the standalone Geneva app will be discontinued, a move that aligns with Bumble’s earlier disclosure to investors that Geneva had not produced revenue as of mid-2025. Existing Geneva users will transition seamlessly to Bumble BFF, retaining all their groups and message history.
While the app continues to support private messaging and profile swiping, the most significant change is the introduction of a new Groups tab. This feature enables users to join or create chat rooms, organize meetups, and manage events through an integrated calendar. Designed to accommodate everything from intimate circles to large communities, the group function aims to foster real-world connections among people with shared interests.
Although the Groups tab is already accessible, the full discovery tool won’t go live until February 2026. This phased rollout allows Bumble to refine the experience based on early user feedback.
The timing of this update is no coincidence. A growing number of friendship-focused apps like Clockout, Clyx, and Les Amis have entered the market, intensifying competition. Bumble’s repositioning helps it stay relevant amid this surge, especially as studies show nearly half of young adults want more friends to do activities with and are looking for digital tools to build local communities.
This community-oriented shift has been part of Bumble’s long-term vision. During a recent earnings call, former CEO Lidiane Jones emphasized the company’s commitment to building “equitable and safe friendships across communities.” The redesign also comes at a challenging financial moment for Bumble, which reported a 7.6% year-over-year revenue decline in Q2, underscoring the need for strategic innovation.
(Source: TechCrunch)
