Bumble Strengthens Community Guidelines to Combat No-Shows for In-Person Dates

Bumble is striving to create a secure environment within its apps for individuals to connect with new people, including when they meet in person. The most recent set of community guidelines, which are also applicable to Badoo and Bumble For Friends, specifically address the issue of ghosting or individuals not showing up for previously scheduled meetups.

The guidelines “prevent no-show behavior by prohibiting not coming to an in-person meeting despite clear plans that both parties have agreed to,” Bumble said. It claims to be the first dating platform to “take a stand” on the issue with users, noting that according to experts, standing or ghosting can “sometimes have a profound effect on a person’s mental health, leading to depression and anxiety and low self-esteem.”

Ghosting and not showing up for IRL meetups are now classified as bullying and abusive behavior under the updated policies, but it’s not clear how Bumble plans to enforce related rules beyond when users report such behavior. ReturnByte has asked Bumble for clarification.

Victim blaming (such as shaming someone for surviving sexual assault) is also prohibited on all three apps. Bumble says this is an industry-first move, part of its efforts to foster a “safe and respectful community.” The updated Violence and Harassment policy includes a clarification related to the platform’s ban on doxxing.

Many services take action against illegal off-platform activity — Bumble’s no-show policy being one of them — so it may be that Bumble takes action against those who accuse victims or doxx users outside of its apps. If someone posts Bumble screenshots on X/Twitter to attack a victim and Bumble finds out, it may take action against the offender’s account on its platforms.

Another issue addressed in Bumble’s latest community guidelines is the use of bots. From now on, Bumble, Badoo and Bumble For Friends “prohibit any attempt to artificially influence connections, matching, conversations or engagement through automation or scripting.” So anyone who gets caught using ChatGPT to try to look interesting after a match might not stay on Bumble very long.

The same applies to those who use any company application to promote the OnlyFans page or profiles on similar services. There is now a “general ban on promoting adult-only content on profiles, including attempts to sell, promote or buy adult sexual content”. The goal is to try to combat this kind of spam, which occurs all too often on dating apps.

Bumble said it will continue to update the guidelines to address “new risks and potential harms that may arise from new behaviors.” The company states that it uses automated safeguards to deal with policy violations before users report them, including “harassment, identity-based hate and other inappropriate content.” This year, Bumble has banned more than 8.2 million accounts on its apps, most of which have been detected and removed by its automated systems.