Mumbai: Bumble, the women-first dating, and social networking app, has announced the launch of “Night In”, a new virtual dating experience where two people can participate in an interactive game over a one-on-one video chat after matching within the app. Bumble’s newest innovative product feature now offers daters in India an opportunity to create more meaningful and deeper connections, expanding the app’s portfolio of existing virtual dating options.
After two people have matched, they have the option to participate in a newly imagined virtual date through “Night In” by clicking the icon within the chat message. After opting for this feature, both parties will receive notifications within the app for their video date. Once both people are within their virtual game room, they will be presented with a virtual game and an explanation of the rules. Bumble will offer trivia upon launch, and the company plans to expand this feature with new game options and virtual experiences in the near future.
Priti Joshi, VP of Global Strategy and Operations shares, “At the beginning of the pandemic, we knew that we were well-positioned to pivot to virtual dating because we already had our Voice Call and Video Chat feature in place. In fact, we recently found that 40% of single Indians claim to opt for virtual dating in 2021. With current restrictions in India, our newest innovations in virtual dating will offer an opportunity for people to engage with each other in a more interesting way and showcase their unfiltered and authentic selves when chatting on Bumble.”
Following the launch of audio notes last year, Bumble has now also launched Video Notes. This feature enables people to send quick videos to each other directly in chat to help break the ice and build deeper conversations. To show their fun side, people can choose to add five Snapchat lenses for their video notes, including Atmosphere, Reactions, and Fox Ears/Tail. This enables people to send quick videos to each other directly in chat to help break the ice and build deeper conversations.
To make video dates easier and more interesting on Bumble, people can also select the video calling backgrounds such as a picnic in Paris, a gondola ride in Venice, and a campfire under the stars, among others. These 360-degree backgrounds will imitate being together in real life and will react to your movement. The AR backgrounds will be available in Bumble’s existing video calling feature, allowing people to make their video calls more exciting to kickstart conversations.
Joshi further added, “The way we interact with each other might have changed, but what hasn’t changed is our need for human connection. As more people in India opt for video dates, they are proving to be a great way to form meaningful connections! We will continue to look for innovative ways to help our community get to know each other virtually.”
In 2019, Bumble became one of the first major dating platforms to introduce in-app video and voice calls. The Voice Call and Video Chat feature allow Bumble’s community to make voice and video calls directly within the app without sharing any personal information, like a phone number or email address. Following the lockdown in March 2020 in India, Bumble’s Voice Call or Video Chat feature had a 38% increase in use, with people spending roughly 20 minutes on average on Video Calls or Voice Chats on Bumble in India.
