Bumble rolls out ‘Compliments,’ a new message-before-match feature

Bumble has experimented with many ways to help its users engage with each other beyond tapping and swiping on miscellaneous profiles. Today, Bumble launched a message-before-match feature, “Compliments,” allowing users to send a note before they decide to connect.

Users can send one Compliment per day, and there’s a 150-character limit per Compliment, a spokesperson told TechCrunch. Compliments can be seen on the user’s main Encounters page as well as their Beeline, which is a perk for Premium members. Users will also get notifications for unread Compliment messages upon opening the app.

The purpose of the new feature is for users to stand out and “be even more intentional about starting the conversation in a positive way,” Bumble wrote in its announcement. In a growing pool of online daters, sending a compliment to a potential match could be a nice bonus for users.

“Compliments answer the what and why of dating. What is it about a person that you find fascinating? Why do you want to get to know someone better? With that in mind, there truly is no better way to start a connection,” Bumble’s Sex & Relationships Expert Shan Boodram said in a statement. “Giving a compliment can be as easy as sending a kind message on a shared interest or hobby that you see on someone’s profile.”

Compliments join Bumble’s various other recently launched features like Recommend to a Friend, which lets users share a Bumble profile with their friends, and blind-dating feature “Bantr Live,” a weekly experience where users connect with a potential match via chat without seeing what they look like.

Rival Tinder also has a message-before-match function. Tinder has a “Fast Chat” feature that gives users a few seconds to chat with someone before matching. Plus, its “Super Like” feature lets users attach a note with their like, and the potential match can read it before they choose to swipe yes or no.