You may have heard about a new-ish dating app called Bumble, and also that some people refer to it as the Tinder for women. Reason enough to test the ride, right?

So here are some quick and dirty instructions to get started:

+++ Images and some missing links coming soon +++

Setup

1. Download and install Bumble for Android or for Apple. The app is not available for Amazon Fire operating systems.
2. Open the app and log in with your Facebook account.
   Yes, you need a Facebook account. Immediately after login, you’re able to limit the data Bumble will pull from your account. Just click on “Edit” and uncheck the items you would like to keep private.
   If you’re still concerned about privacy, just create a new Facebook account and use that. It will have no effect whatsoever on the functionality of your Bumble account.
3. Add at least 2 good images: 1 nice headshot and 1 full-body shot.
   Do this before you get fully started. You want your profile to look nice right out of the gate, because as a new user, you’ll be shown to the best Bumble users first. Would be a shame if they pass up on you just because your profile was still under construction.
   To really knock it out of the park, make sure to read about posting the perfect picture on Bumble, too.
4. Add a description.
   Yes, it seems tedious; especially since Bumble is sold to us as a “hot-or-not dating app” that just requires swiping left or right. However, people on here who are actually serious about meeting someone will read your description; both men and women. (Several of the girls I met said “no description is an automatic left swipe.”)
   Give it just a few lines: Who are you? What do you like? What do you dislike? What do you look for in a partner?
5. Update 2 settings: (1) Distance from you of people shown to you, and (2) Age of people shown to you.
   If you want to know what all the other buttons and levers are for, please read the Pro tips to date successfully on Bumble.
6. Done. Now Play Bumble and find someone…

Play Bumble

Swipe

1. On the main screen you will see the image of a suggested partner.
2. Swipe down to see all images of that person.
3. After the last picture, the person’s location and description will expand. To see the description earlier, just swipe up the name and description section.
4. If you like, swipe RIGHT.
5. If you don’t like, swipe LEFT.
6. Wait.

Chat (ladies have to go first)

If two people swipe right on each other, it’s called a match. It doesn’t matter if you swipe right on each other within seconds or weeks apart.

The match occurs when the second person swipes right (the other person swiped right on you before).

If you’re the second person, Bumble will announce to you with great fanfare that you just matched with the person you swiped right on.

If you’re the first person who swiped right on somebody and then get matched later, you just receive a notification and your match shows in the top row of the messaging section.

On Bumble, the girl (woman, if you prefer) always says hello first. That’s by design, and it’s the beauty of this app; it’s called empowerment and lets you, ladies, dictate where the conversation goes.

From the moment the match happens, the girl has 24 hours to message the boy. If she doesn’t, the match disappears. And remember, even if the guy wanted to message you first, we CANNOT do it. So, please, write your matches.

Now, gentlemen, after a lady writes you, you have exactly 24 hours as well to respond to her. Bumble is a team effort. Be kind. Be respectful. Respond. If you don’t respond to that initial message within 24 hours, the match will disappear, too.

All of this is meant to make you talk. So talk!

And then, for God’s sake, don’t text for 2 weeks. One of you, please, ask the other out to meet. That’s what this is for. Meet in real life, look into each other’s eyes, and figure out if this is more than an online match.

Now go have fun!

Alex

Did this info help? Anything important I missed? Any app updates since I wrote this article? Any memorable successes, epic failures, or plain embarrassments you had on Bumble? Please share in the Comments section below.

P.S. Be awesome on Bumble

If you really want to rock Bumble, please read the Pro Tips, and learn why it’s the dumbest thing to just say “Hello!” when you’re the girl and have to make the first move, and how to cleverly use the advanced settings on Bumble.