As demand for COVID-19 vaccination increases, Bumble is rolling out new badge features to allow the Bumble community to share their vaccination status with potential new partners.
From this week through to the end of the year, Bumble will enable people in Australia and New Zealand to add a “vaccinated” badge to their profile. Bumble already offers a COVID preferences center within the app which allows the Bumble community across the globe to indicate what kind of dates they feel comfortable going on – whether virtual, socially distanced, or socially distanced with a mask.
You can view and select your preferences by clicking on your account and selecting COVID-19.
You can then see your matches’ preferences in the chat.
Since the beginning of the pandemic Bumble has been introducing features to let people connect virtually and communicate how they are comfortable dating.
Lucille McCart, Bumble’s APAC communications director, “with nearly half of Australia in lockdown or under restrictions, we are encouraging all our users to date virtually using our Voice Call and Video Chat features within Bumble. Despite these changes, we know our community is still open to finding love and that many relationships blossomed off the back of virtual dating in lockdown last year.”
“As the vaccine rollout ramps up through the rest of the year, and as we eventually return to IRL dating, we hope that the new ‘vaccinated’ badge and other features will allow our users to easily communicate their dating preferences and feel comfortable and safe on dates.”
Bumble users in Australia have been approaching dating differently in the last six weeks*:
- I am asking potential dates if they have had the vaccine or are experiencing COVID symptoms before meeting in person (+45 per cent)
- I am waiting longer to have sex with a new partner compared to before the pandemic (+21 per cent)
- I am still feeling more safety conscious than before the pandemic (+16 per cent)
- I am spending a longer period of time messaging and chatting with someone online before meeting them in person (+12.5 per cent)
- I feel more more anxious about socialising with new people I don’t know and trust (+12 per cent)
Bumble has seen a steady increase in the number of people who have included the word “vaccine” or “vaccinated” in their Bumble profiles after the first COVID-19 vaccines were administered earlier this year.
*w/c 28 June 2021 compared with w/c 17 May 2021
