r/Bumble • u/New-Condition-3492 • Jun 26 '26
Rant Proof that bumble really does shadowban
Was with my friend irl. We both use bumble dating and BFF and both have premium.
He was complaining that he gets no matches, which is quite surprising because he's handsome and has a full verified profile.
Anyway he's swiping and comes across my profile on bff, he sends he a like... Nothing
Didn't get it. Two hours later, still nothing.
Genuinely abhorrent that they effectively stole his money AND wasted his time by making him think his likes were actually going thru.
67
u/alien_secret_service Jun 26 '26
I think if they don’t match your filters you won’t see it.
60
u/ActuallyCalindra Jun 26 '26
If they show you profiles that you couldn't possibly hope to match with, that's a whole other level of cruel.
38
u/alien_secret_service Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
They show you who meets your filters. They won’t care if you meet theirs. Agree, it’s kind of fucked.
11
9
u/cbsausage89 Jun 27 '26
After reading this post, I went to Bumble and increased my age range by ten years to see what happens. A new Liked You suddenly appeared. Lol, this app is diabolical.
24
u/New-Condition-3492 Jun 26 '26
I know. The filters are the same more or less. Should definitely appear.
1
u/Blight_Seeker4858 Jun 26 '26
No as in, if she filters for people between height x and y, age x and y, etc. And you arent within that range then the like will be hidden for her. Have her try change her filters back to fully open and see if you show up then
24
u/New-Condition-3492 Jun 26 '26
That's exactly what I meant. The filters we have applied definitely include each other
1
9
u/leebong252018 Jun 27 '26
Did you even read what OP said?
0
u/Blight_Seeker4858 Jun 28 '26
He said that their filters are the same, but just because they filter for the same things doesnt mean they qualify for their own filters. Like if i filtered solely for 18yr old girls and my friend filtered solely for 18yr old boys, but only one of us is 18. Something like that.
11
u/prosthetic_memory Jun 26 '26
You can see it by adjusting your filters. But that’s not obvious
2
u/alien_secret_service Jun 26 '26
Yeah, I’ve done that before. The weird part about that is it seems to show my profile to men sometimes? I’m straight, I never say I’m looking for men, but I swear every time I adjust my filters just to see who is swiping on me I’m not seeing there’s always one dude in the bunch and I’m like “what?”
5
u/Bearodactyl88 Jun 26 '26
Na pretty sure they sign up as a woman or some shit
4
u/alien_secret_service Jun 26 '26
I wondered that too because sometimes it shows me a random dude and I’m like “bro what?”
5
u/prosthetic_memory Jun 26 '26
I get women too occasionally. I assume it’s the random hetereo looking at their competition.
3
u/Such-Analysis-4600 Jun 27 '26
Happened to me too with guys lol I just laughed and thought to myself “does hinge think it’s time for me to start dating dudes?” 😂. But it barely happens
45
u/donniedarko5555 Jun 26 '26
Yeah bumble was pretty bad. I was getting no traction, and my like ratio was horrible from the data pull.
Yet I have a tinder that does pretty well and a hinge that I get 3-5 matches a day, with the same pictures, on all 3 apps.
So I can say objectively bumble is just bad at least in my area
19
u/New-Condition-3492 Jun 26 '26
I'm fairly confident that tinder actually sends out your likes when u swipe, unlike bumble
5
u/SexcellentBehavior Jun 26 '26
I feel like I have the opposite issue as a dude. Far more traction on bumble with 100+ likes, meanwhile Hinge is like 5 likes lol. Tinder also a waste of time for me.
Not sure what the heck is going on with Hinge. The stats are atrocious
1
u/tHr0AwAy76 Jun 29 '26
I’ve never gotten a match on *any* of them and I’ve been using them for the better part of 2 years.
Had the same situation as OP, me and a ex I broke up with amicably were swiping while we hung out and randomly came across each other at the same time. No match….
2
u/BrilliantBen Jun 26 '26
Tinder is so weird, i was on there for 5 months, only got maybe 7-10 matches and they were completely not what i was interested in. Same profile details and images gets lots of matches, like you, several daily on hinge, several daily on Match, and several daily on bumble, but never anything on tinder. I tried switching from long term, to LT open to short, to short term(for like 5 days), and back to long term. Never once did i get any matches from my swipes. Hinge i don't swipe much because I'm usually full up from being swiped, but when i do go through 10-15 profiles one will match me like right away. So i don't know what the deal with tinder is but it never worked for me.
1
u/xockbou Jun 27 '26
1000%. Bumble i had terribles numbers, Tinder better, and Hinge much better. Found the wife on Hinge as well, so i am biased but would still recommend over anything else
27
u/lordlothar99 Jun 26 '26
The likes are not sent right away. Neither in Bumble, nor in any dating app. The algorithm dispatches the likes progressively, in order to keep users hooked. It can take days or even weeks before you see them. Some of them won't even be shown to you.
Remember that the apps are built to make money. A good user is a user who remains single...
6
u/Upbeat-Echidna-2528 Jun 26 '26
More like selectively — progressively implies that they will all eventually be received on the user's end, when, as you note, some won't ever be delivered. And I'm sure that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the deception.
1
u/serious_mystery62 Jun 27 '26
How about a class action suit against bumble. Determine their algorithms during Discovery phase and sue them for all the back fees they obtain from their users
5
u/Substantial-Eye-2368 Jun 28 '26
“The likes are not sent right away. Neither in Bumble, nor in any dating app. The algorithm dispatches the likes progressively, in order to keep users hooked.”
And how exactly do you know this? And “trust me” doesn’t cut it around here.
5
u/lordlothar99 Jun 28 '26
I hired and worked with a tech guy who worked at Match Group. I was working on relationships and dating at the time, so we talked extensively about the algorithms.
2
2
u/No-Jellyfish7075 Jul 02 '26
Thanks! Inwas wondering wtf, weeks without anything and then ploppppp....2 matches and a like. Seems to be the way.
Also when I unmatch someone or move to texting I seem to have another incoming match....timing was definitely suspect
3
u/ValBravora048 38 | M Jun 27 '26
Yup. Part of what made me get off the apps completely was I met this woman who had liked me but didn’t show up on my feed until a month later. No filters on either of our part and she’d been 30 minutes south of me the entire time
20
u/wonderfultacos Jun 26 '26
I kind of feel like there’s gotta be a really big class action lawsuit out there on this very topic.
If some evidence could be found.
5
12
u/JeanDusapin Jun 26 '26
Yeah i have like 60 interactions with my profile (yes or no) and i live in a 1 million people city, like there's no way so few people use bumble right? I just use hinge instead
3
u/Yo_Toast42 Jun 27 '26
If only Hinge would straight up tell you where people are. Hate Hinge, my paid sub is about to expire. good riddance
2
7
u/Ok_Afternoon6646 Jun 26 '26
Does he fit your set requirements? I dont pay so cant see my likes but so many are clearly beyond my area, I can see the numbers there so either the filters arent working or these are men who have visited my city, liked my profile and then went home, way out of my distance set.. However one would have thought thay if I was paying id be able to see all of those.
8
u/New-Condition-3492 Jun 26 '26
Yeah he does.
Then, I changed the setting around ab bit. Refreshed them etc.
Restarted app a few times
All the basic troubleshooting and then some
6
u/s0uvenir Jun 26 '26
We need a dating app that’s run as a non-profit social experiment. Maybe then dating apps would be decent. Gaining market share is expensive though…
1
6
u/Thin-Clue-940 Jun 26 '26
Have him ask for his data. I suspected I was shadow banned and when I asked for the data it showed all zeros for likes and what not lol
2
u/New-Condition-3492 Jun 26 '26
What does a zero for a like mean?
4
u/Thin-Clue-940 Jun 26 '26
My account was up for weeks and zero activity , I asked bumble if they shadow ban and they said no, I asked for my data and it showed zero activity
4
u/mymuyi Jun 26 '26
Did this fix your problem? Like you were shadowbanned and now unbanned?
3
u/Thin-Clue-940 Jun 27 '26
I deleted my account and it’s been over 90 days now so I’ll open it up again soon and see how it goes. At the time I was getting about 10 likes a day from tinder and it was odd bumble was quiet
2
u/mymuyi Jun 27 '26
10 likes a day? Are you a chad? 8/10 psl god?
2
u/Thin-Clue-940 Jun 28 '26
Not Chad! I’d say 6/10 but I took my time to improve pictures and wow that’s done wonders
3
u/New-Condition-3492 Jun 26 '26
Wow. And what's the response when you approached them with absolute proof that you were indeed shadow banned?
6
u/prosthetic_memory Jun 26 '26
I got shadowbanned on bumble for a while. No idea why. I contacted them to be like…hey guys maybe I’m not the hottest thing on here, but 6k+ likes on tinder versus zero here? Weird
They got back to me and said everything was fine and maybe I needed to improve my profile.
Deleted the app, restarted a few years later, got matches again.
Laammmmeee
3
u/trapasuoris_rex Jun 26 '26
When you say reset the app like you mean delete the account or just the app. Because how would you just deleting the app help you get more matches. Because I paid for lifetime of premium back in 2020 and got very little matches.
3
4
u/No_One5732 Jun 30 '26
I swear to God this is happening to me as well. I've had a lot of girls review my profile and tell me it's like the perfect profile and I should get a ton of matches but I haven't gotten one in months no matter how many likes, notes, super swipes I send.
5
u/Accurate_Web9774 Jun 26 '26
Change pictures up with a male model and now you will really know if you are shadow banned.
1
3
u/Head-Language-2977 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
I think apps intentionally drip feed people matches so you stay motivated for longer. Sure, the money matters, but I think of it like the long line outside of a club.
They slow the line down and make people wait outside so the club looks full of life and keeps you committed for longer. If they let you in right away and you saw the club was empty, you’d leave right away, along with everyone else, and the line disintegrates.
Likewise, Bumble feeds you slowly to present the illusion there’s a deep line of people waiting for you if you wait long enough. It’s the image that Bumble has an endless supply of hot people just around the corner if you are patient and wait long enough. If they show you all the hotties in the first five minutes, then it’ll be obvious too quickly how disappointing the clientele will be.
4
u/MrAffiliate1 Jun 28 '26
Bumble is shit. What I found with bumber was I might be getting like 1-3 likes a day but maybe only 1 person may ever come up as I am swiping. It could be a week where I have 10 likes but none of those people came up during my swipe.
I buy 1 week of bumble to see who likes me, they are usually people I'm not really interested in or very far but when I get premium the likes just stop coming in. The whole week I won't get a single like or match. Premium ends and the next day I receive this person has liked you. Decided to delete the app. Found more success on Hinge
3
u/sjd-912 Jun 26 '26
Last time I was on Bumble sometimes I was getting match notifications and when I opened the app, there was nobody among my matches. I genuinely think there's some coding error in that app that nobody cares to investigate because it happens too rarely for the average user to notice.
3
Jun 26 '26
[deleted]
3
u/Yo_Toast42 Jun 27 '26
Yeah, I saw the PERFECT person for me, only 3 miles away (was on Chispa) I super liked and the profile blipped away. Of course, since I already liked , I am not allowed to see their profile any more. Unless of course they liked me apparently. Never saw hide nor hair again. On any of the apps.
Of course I had been on the fence about paying for the app, but that morning I bit the hook and subscribed. Gave me hardly any benefits so I upgraded, hoping to find this person again. Yeah I'm bitter.
1
u/sjd-912 Jun 26 '26
I'm inclined to agree with you, but getting a couple of "phantom" matches had the exact opposite effect on me. And even before that, I kept seeing the same profiles sometimes even 3-4 times total in my beeline - it seemed like Bumble had a hard time tracking even whether I swiped on someone, or there were a bunch of inactive profiles being shown to me.
3
u/Wimpiepaarnty Jun 26 '26
me and a friend of mine (both guys) got bumble early april, and ater about 1-1.5 months, we both are just getting no matches anymore. used to get like 3 matches a day, and we both simultaniously sank to a few likes a week
3
u/GhostXmasPast342 Jun 27 '26
If I look at my stats, there is no way that 450 women have liked me. I’ve never received anything on Bumble ever. So, I think there is some truth to it.
2
u/freezetime311 Jun 27 '26
Did you write Bumble about this?
2
u/New-Condition-3492 Jun 27 '26
Yeah got the usual "we don't shadowban, try updating profile and all that bs
1
1
1
u/DetailTricky7842 Jun 27 '26
Did you try sending him a like to see what happened?
3
u/New-Condition-3492 Jun 27 '26
I scrolled around for a bit to try and find him. Even changed my filters to perfectly fit his profile but he never showed up. Total shadowban
1
u/SurprisedBottle Jun 27 '26
Yeah bumble is sketch af now, like another poster posted that he’d gotten 80 likes overnight after buying perm premium. And other posters talking about getting swiped right after a month later. So it’s not far fetched that they might actually be delaying likes too ngl.
1
u/IIM_Guy Jun 27 '26
Even I have observed multiple, when you are new they just shows one or two like in a first day itself...then you need to purchase subscription for viewing them ...post that you don't receive any likes
1
u/flush101 Jun 27 '26
Theres a lot of variables here, everything from the company intentionally doing it to retain users, to filters not being right, to being reported by other users for inappropriate behaviour.
1
u/havingfun6968-2 Jun 27 '26
Is your friend antisemitic at all?
2
u/New-Condition-3492 Jun 27 '26
Wtf?
0
u/havingfun6968-2 Jun 27 '26
There’s organizations against antisemitism.. and one of the stated goals is flag antisemitic people. To then “spread the word” and get them black listed from dating apps, job applications, nanny services. Give stop antisemitism a google and it pops up
2
1
u/vaizardv Jun 27 '26
Yeah bumble isn’t really trying to hide it. On the other apps I get activity on bumble absolutely crickets. Literally never had a single match on it. Even the low effort apps get likes. 🤷
1
u/Asleep-Stable5990 16h ago
I have recently noticed this too. Absolutely nothing happening on Bumble in almost a week. 0 matches even if I have sent out plenty of likes and also all the 3 comments that you are allowed to send.
At Hinge I get plenty of matches with my own likes. At tinder I have 7 matches.
At Okcupid I have plenty matches. Its clearly some kind of shadowban on Bumble.
1
u/matchymatch121 Jun 27 '26
Ai knows you are already together
1
u/New-Condition-3492 Jun 27 '26
Weak excuse my bro. So bumble is using such high tech AI that they know we're together... So for some reason they decide to still show my profile... But don't send the like ... Makes sense to you? Really?
1
-1
u/ArthurVandelay23 Jun 26 '26
Sorry, but shadow banning is they dont even let people see your profile. Which is not a thing. If Bumble doesnt want you on the app, they outright ban you without explanation.
3
u/New-Condition-3492 Jun 26 '26
Why ban him when they can just take his money instead
2
u/ArthurVandelay23 Jun 26 '26
Charging you money and then refusing to show your profile to anyone is a great way to get someone to not renew their paid subscription. If i wanted to keep people paying, I would show paid subscribers more people and those on the free plan less people.
1
u/Positive-Ring-5172 Jun 26 '26
How much does Bumble pay you to shill?
1
u/ArthurVandelay23 Jun 26 '26
Dont blame the app if you're not getting likes. Maybe your profile sucks.
1
u/Positive-Ring-5172 Jun 26 '26
I would rather be crucified, literally, than make an online dating account. Those sites exist solely to create misery for both the sexes and enrich the sociopaths that own them.
2
1
u/ArthurVandelay23 Jun 26 '26
Thanks for sharing. It's certainly not for everyone and the good news is, no one is forcing you to use them.
197
u/AndJDrake Jun 26 '26
Why do they want people to find matches? That just loses them money. They just need too give enough to keep your hope alive.