Everyone on Bumble is hoping for that perfect match. Some people’s matches are just okay and other people’s matches are amazing. And then, some folks aren’t getting any matches at all.
So how do you make the most of your time on Bumble, and get the matches you want? In this article we’ll cover:
- Whether it’s normal to get no matches on Bumble
- How many matches you’re limited to each day
- The key reasons you’re not getting matches
- How Bumble works differently for heterosexual men and women
- How long it should take for you to get a match
- Tips to immediately improve your chances of making a match
- How to reset your Bumble matches
- Frequently asked questions.
So, if you’re ready to optimize your Bumble experience, let’s get into it!
Is It Normal to Get No Matches on Bumble?
Lots of people struggle with matching on Bumble. Sometimes, you’ll get several matches in a day. Other times, you’ll go weeks without any new matches. There are several key factors that affect your match rate.
Location places a big part in this equation. How many users are in your area? And how many of them are compatible with you?
The amount of time you spend on the app will also have an effect. If you’re not using all your swipes, every day, you’re not making the most of Bumble.
However, the real deciding factor is your profile.
Does the quality of your profile properly reflect your quality? Have you optimized your bio, photos, and settings?
Remember: good things take time and effort! If you want matches, you need to invest in the quality of your profile, think strategically, and keep at it.
And, if the quality of your photos is significantly subpar, then that could be a huge reason why there’s nobody in your match queue! Some big photo no-nos include:
- Mirror selfies
- Photos where you’re wearing sunglasses
- Low-quality or blurry images
- Too many group photos
- Photos of you with other women
There’s plenty more besides, so if you’re serious about wanting to match with people so that you can start chatting and potentially get into relationships, make sure your photos show you in your best light!
Not sure where to start? That’s where The Match Artist can help!
We’ll pair you with one of our professional photographers who’ll work with you before and during your shoot to take incredible photos that are bound to get you more matches!
Not sure how much of a difference it makes? Just check out the testimonials and thanks from some of our previous clients!
Trust us: when it comes to your dating app profile, making sure your photo section stands out is going to be the key!
Is There a Daily Max Limit of Matches on Bumble?
There is no daily limit of matches on Bumble. Bumble, as an online dating platform, is just as motivated as you are to help you match with other singles.
What Bumble does limit is the amount of daily swipes you can use on a basic account (up to 25). There are two main reasons Bumble implements a swipe limit:
- Bumble is a business that implements a “freemium” model for its services. This means that that app offers a free service with limited features, and a premium service with full functionality.
This model relies on you downloading and enjoying the app for free, becoming frustrated with the limitations, and upgrading.
A lot of guys use a “wide net” strategy on dating apps — they swipe right on everyone. This allows them to see who is and isn’t interested, and then pick and choose matches from amongst their haul.
This strategy works well for the guy with the net, but it’s pretty cruel to the metaphorical bycatch.
Bumble’s swipe limit discourages free users from trawling for partners. This restriction means that dedicated fishermen will have to upgrade to Premium or use Bumble Boost.
- The official Bumble line on limited swipes is this:
“In order to help foster more genuine, quality connections for our users and encourage more intentional swiping we incorporated a daily swipe limit. We know the more thoughtful our users are about their swipes, the more likely they are to strike up conversations that lead to meaningful connections.”
Which honestly sounds great, and is totally on brand for Bumble.
Unfortunately, the credibility of this statement is kind of undermined by the fact that you can simply buy more swipes.
If the swipe limit is something that bothers you, you should consider paid options like Bumble Boost, or Bumble Premium.
Alternatively, you could embrace the swipe limit, and concentrate on quality swipes over quantity!
Key Reasons Why You Aren’t Getting Any Matches on Bumble
Why are people swiping left on you? Well, more likely than not, this has nothing to do with you as a person, and everything to do with your profile.
Let’s have a look at some common mistakes people make with their profile setup and sections.
Your Profile Is Not Optimized at All
An incomplete profile makes you look kind of lazy! If you can’t take the time to fill out your information, why should girls bother swiping, much less messaging you?
Online dating feels dangerous to many women. You’re looking for a date with the perfect girl, but she’s just trying to decide whether it’s even safe to meet up.
An incomplete profile raises red flags — swiping right just isn’t worth the risk. This is why it’s so important to take the time to create a profile that accurately reflects who you are.
Linking social media accounts, like Instagram or Spotify, shows that you’re a real three-dimensional person. List your job, interests, hobbies — give yourself layers. Bios are also super important for capitalizing on any attention your profile pictures might attract.
“Attracting attention” brings us to the final piece of the puzzle: profile pictures.
The photos on your profile are the first thing anyone sees, so you need your appearance to match your sparkling personality!
Your Profile Pictures Are of Low Quality
Low quality profile pictures are a turn off — plain and simple!
It doesn’t matter how handsome you are, if your photos stink, then you’re dead in the water. This is because, by and large, visual attractiveness isn’t determined by genetics, or by “raw good looks”.
Visual attractiveness is determined by presentation.
In person, this means dressing well, grooming, good hygiene, and a likable manner. Online, your photos are a crucial aspect of your overall presentation.
Photos are quite literally the lens through which you are perceived online. Bad photos equal bad results. You can even use services, such as Photofeeler, to get an unbiased opinion on your profile photos and — if the results are poor — then it’s time to upgrade!
It’s important to invest time and money into the pictures you post to your profile. Of course, while you could enlist a buddy with a DSLR to take better photos of you, the smart thing to do is get the professionals involved and contact The Match Artist!
Your Profile Settings Aren’t Configured Correctly
Profile settings are configured almost immediately after you first download Bumble from the app store.
At the beginning, you may not completely understand the importance of one setting or another. As you gain experience, you’ll start to feel the impact of each setting on your dating pool. So, if you aren’t getting matches, it’s worth double checking your settings.
If your distance is too limited, it’ll seriously affect the number of people you’ll have a chance to match with. Consider casting a wider net — if you’re picky, you’ll want all the opportunities you can get.
Your age range might also be limiting you. For example: the cultural and intellectual gap between a 30-year-old and a 20-year-old is huge!
It makes sense for a 30-year-old to have no interest in dating anyone younger than 25 — no new news there! But the gap in knowledge, or even looks, between a 30-year-old and a 40-year-old is pretty insignificant.
The older you get, the wider your age range can be. The bottom line? Don’t limit yourself to an excessively narrow band.
Lastly, there’s your gender preferences. If you like women, but your preference is set to men, the reason you’re having no luck is pretty obvious. So you may want to double check that setting…!
On the other hand, online dating provides a low risk way to explore any wiggle room you may have in your gender preferences. If you’re curious, try switching between opposite gender preferences — you only live one life, after all!
You’re Too Picky with Selecting Potential Matches
You know as well as we do: a bad profile doesn’t necessarily indicate a bad person. At the same time, it’s true that if you want success, you need to hold your profile to high standards!
However, holding potential matches to the same standards you hold yourself may not be a good thing. Make sure you’re not being hypercritical or overly selective with your swipes.
Remember, matching isn’t a commitment! Don’t be afraid to match with wildcards, chat with them, and if it goes well, set up a date. And if not — well that’s what the unmatch button is for, isn’t it?
You’re Not an Ideal User for Bumble
Last of all, maybe you’re not on the right dating app. Bumble works differently to Tinder, and Tinder is different to Hinge. A lot of the people on Her won’t have much luck on Grindr.
If Bumble isn’t working for you, don’t stress. Bumble is designed to give women the initiative and to destabilize “old-fashioned power dynamics”. That might suit you down to the ground, or it might not.
If you’ve covered all your other bases, and Bumble still isn’t working, it may be time to download a different app.
The Inequality of Bumble: Learn Both Sides
Bumble is marketed as a feminist dating app. It is designed to promote equity in the heterosexual dating experience. To achieve that, Bumble has to treat men and women a little differently.
Equity might not sound fair to you, because it is distinct from equality.
Equity pursues fairness by acknowledging that all participants have different advantages and disadvantages. With this in mind, equity makes attempts to balance and level the playing field accordingly.
Equality, on the other hand, disregards advantages or disadvantages. Everyone plays on the same playing field — if a player is disadvantaged, they simply have to work twice as hard.
Whether you think Bumble’s attempt at equity is fair or unfair isn’t really that important. At the end of the day, “all’s fair in love and war” anyway…!
What is important is that you understand the experience of both men and of women on the Bumble app.
The Male Perspective
When it comes to Bumble, and online dating in general, men tend to face more competition, even when faced with the somewhat more reasonable gender ratio on the app.
However, guys have a pretty scattergun approach to online dating — which means women get a lot of matches, and men do not.
With Bumble, women get to decide whether a match turns into a conversation. That means that men have to rely on their profiles to start their half of the conversation.
The details really matter here — you’ll be most successful when your profile prompts conversation. The purpose of a good Bumble profile is to invite questions and provide easy opening topics.
The best way to achieve this? Make sure you utilize a combination of written and visual hooks. Your photos should tell just as much of your story as your bio does!
The Female Perspective
Women on the internet get a lot of attention: some of it good, most of it bad. Online dating is no exception. This overwhelming stimulus can lead many women to develop a rejection mindset.
If you want to bypass that rejection mindset, you really have to stand out. That means an exceptional, but approachable, profile.
With the right profile, you might get a match, and then you’ll need to be prepared to send the first message.
Our top first message tips are to:
- Make sure you’ve read the other person’s profile carefully
- Respond organically to the bio and go for a topic of conversation that you may have common interest in
- Compliments never hurt
- Be sure to follow up with an open-ended question.
It’s important to show that you are attentive, detail oriented, and actually interested in your match as a person.
How Long Does It Take to Find a Match on Bumble?
There is no normal amount of time to wait for a match. Your profile quality, location, and activity level will all affect the speed with which you get a match — every bit of the puzzle matters!
If you’ve gone through all the steps, have optimized your profile, but still aren’t seeing any matches, then you may want to consider going for the nuclear option. That is, deleting your account and app, then waiting at least 24 hours before you sign up again.
Why? If the Bumble algorithm has already locked you in, or you’ve been shadowbanned, then those are good reasons to want to reset your profile entirely. Just be sure to use this option wisely!
Tangible Tips to Get More Matches on Bumble Right Now
So, how can you get more matches on Bumble right now? Here are our top 10 tips.
1. Use Only High-Quality Images for Your Bumble Profile
First impressions matter, and your profile photos are your first impression online. Good photos should look effortless, casual, and tell a story about who you are and what you’re like.
It doesn’t matter if you think you’re unphotogenic, or you don’t have the technical knowledge to capture quality pictures. The truth is, looking good in photos is a learned skill.
Here at The Match Artist, we provide facial expression coaching and quality instruction that helps you reveal your best self to the camera. Why? Well, we’ll let you in on a secret: nobody is a natural in front of the camera!
That’s why it’s important to not only learn how to pose and control what your facial expressions look like, but also to practice at home in front of the mirror!
Don’t worry — our photographers are experts on making you look good, so when you book in with us, we’ll coach you through it before and during your shoot.
All so that not only will your photos look awesome, they’re guaranteed to make a great first impression!
2. Remove Your Selfies From Your Profile
MySpace is dead and selfies are too — in fact, thanks to Bumble’s photography policy, you’re not even allowed to take indoor mirror selfies any more!
Good riddance, frankly! Selfies look unprofessional and overly posed, they don’t show you in your environment, or tell the kind of story you need to get someone interested.
And the worst sin of all? Selfies covered in filters. No thank you!
3. Avoid Using Group Shots On Your Profile
Group photos are super frustrating on dating sites.
First off, they make it hard to identify who you actually are. Secondly, they put you in direct competition with all your friends in the photo — yikes!
You don’t want to get a match, only to find out that someone got you confused with your handsome friend. Trust us: it doesn’t feel good!
4. Don’t Have a Stale or Boring Bumble Bio
Every piece of data you put on your profile has to count! Your personality needs to be bigger than the tiny phone screen your profile is being viewed on, so pick your words strategically.
The cardinal sin in online dating is a boring bio. A boring profile lacks detail and specificity.
For example, the statement, “I like music” does absolutely nothing to make you stand out from the crowd! If you want music to be a jumping off point for a conversation, you need to add detail.
What kind of music do you like? Were you first introduced to the genre on your travels, or at an exciting event? Perhaps your parents played in a band?
Whatever you want to say, make it detailed, specific, and intriguing. That’s the only way your bio will stand out!
5. Optimize Your Profile to Get More SuperSwipes
Upgrading to Bumble Boost or Bumble Premium gives you access to the SuperSwipe feature. Each week, you get to use five SuperSwipes on the profiles of your choice.
SuperSwiping is great, because it helps you stand out. It shows that you’re genuinely interested in someone — not just casting a wide net.
SuperSwiping also flexes your premium subscription. Potential matches will know you take them — and dating in general — seriously.
6. Don’t Take Pictures of Yourself in Ugly Environments
Maybe you are the most photogenic person in the world. None of that will help you if you’re posting selfies in your dirty mirror, from your grimy bathroom (not that you could anyway, thanks to Bumble’s photo policy!).
At least half of what makes a photo good is the location. You want your surroundings to reflect who you are and what you can offer.
Our photographers at The Match Artist will make sure to not only take photos of you in a variety of locations (both indoors and out) and outfits, but also throughout the day, aiming to end around sunset. That’s why your photoshoot lasts around four to five hours!
7. Hire the Pros to Help You Win at Bumble
Successful people know how to delegate. Managing and capitalizing on other people’s expertise is the smart way to conduct your business.
When it comes to dating, the same principles apply. Using professional photographers (like those we have at The Match Artist), dating coaches, and even copywriters, will immediately elevate you above your competitors!
8. Figure Out Your Profile is Banned
If you’re getting no new matches, your profile may have been shadowbanned. Get in touch with the Bumble support team as soon as possible to work out what has gone wrong. Feedback from the support team can help you avoid future bans too.
9. Don’t Include Pictures of You With Other Women
If you’re looking for women, don’t post photos of yourself with women. There’s no need to confuse the matter, when it comes to your bachelor status!
And, if you’re posting pics with your family, be sure to make it clear that that’s your sister and not your girlfriend!
10. Don’t Include Pictures of Yourself Partying Too Much
Party photos can be touch-and-go. You do want to look fun, but you don’t want to look irresponsible or out of control.
Some people will immediately swipe left if you post drinking photos, even if they are totally okay with you drinking. That’s because drinking photos make a small part of your life appear to be the main event.
Remember: everything in moderation!
How Do I Reset My Bumble Matches?
If you want to reset your Bumble Matches, you will have to delete your Bumble account. After that, delete the app off your phone. Finally, you have to wait 24 hours before re-downloading the app and setting up a new account.
Be sure that you have alternative ways (social media, phone numbers, etc) to contact matches you like. Otherwise, you’ll lose everything when you delete your account.
Key Takeaways
Bumble is just like any other thing you’ve succeeded at in life. You have to be strategic and put your best foot forward. If you want better matches, you have to improve your profile.
After that, it’s a grind. You have to be patient and persistent with the app. The more active you are, the more likely you will make that perfect match. Sooner or later, the algorithm will reward you.
If you’re not making progress, make sure your profile is properly optimized. More likely than not, there will be something you can tweak or improve.
One of the simplest ways to go from zero matches to an inbox overflowing with them, is to pay attention to your photos! So, if you’re ready to start taking your dating profile seriously, get in touch with The Match Artist!
No Matches on Bumble FAQs
Why is Bumble no longer showing me matches?
Bumble will stop showing you matches when:
- You have viewed all the local profiles
- Your settings are incorrect, or not optimized
- There are very few Bumble users in your area.
If you’re having this issue, consider switching up your settings, traveling, or trying a different app.
In some cases, your profile may have been shadowbanned, in which case you’ll want to reset your profile entirely by deleting your account, deleting the app, then waiting at least 24 hours before downloading again and starting over.
Can I see who I swiped right on Bumble?
If you use Bumble Premium, you can see the profiles of people who swiped right and matched with you. If you’re a free user, and a heterosexual man, you will receive a notification when you get a match.
However, until your match contacts you, you can’t view their profile.
Premium Bumble users can access the Beeline feature. This allows you to view your admirers (people who swiped right on you) before you swipe on them.
Why do my Bumble matches disappear?
Unless a conversation is started, matches on Bumble disappear after 24 hours. Bumble users may also unmatch voluntarily.
Banned accounts, or technical issues, can also lead to unmatching. Check in with Bumble’s support team if you believe this may be the case.