Bumble, a dating app that revolutionized the industry a decade ago by introducing the concept of women initiating talks, is now allowing males to engage in chats on its platform.

Bumble is introducing a new tool dubbed “opening moves” that allows female users to establish a prompt for male suitors to reply to to start a conversation. The function overturns the app’s long-standing mandate that women initiate the first message to their matches. Bumble claims this change empowers women by granting them greater control over their dating experiences.

Dating App Bumble Will No Longer Require Women To Make The First Move

Lidiane Jones, the new CEO of Bumble, unveiled the new feature on Tuesday as part of a comprehensive app redesign. Jones took over the reins from creator Whitney Wolfe Herd earlier this year. This decision comes at a time when dating apps are striving to maintain their relevance as some users are feeling fatigued from online dating and are craving more in-person interactions.

Jones perceives the Bumble redesign as an opportunity for the platform to respond effectively to the current situation.

“There is an increasing demand for genuine human connections,” Jones stated in an interview with CNN before to the launch. “I expect that the number of people using online dating will increase rather than decrease, but there is a higher standard…” Therefore, focusing our attention on our objective is a significant call to action.

According to Jones, adding the new “opening moves” feature is a means by which Bumble is progressing while remaining faithful to its initial objective of empowering women. Now, female users can either keep starting discussions with their matches or establish an initial move, such as asking a question about their match’s ideal dinner guest, to indicate that they prefer their match to make the first contact. (Non-binary users or those interested in same-gender pairings have the option for either person to initiate and reply to an initial action.)

Bumble’s makeover incorporates enhanced “dating intentions” badges that enable users to specify on their profiles whether they are seeking a “life partner” or simply “fun, casual dates.” Bumble has implemented a new policy mandating members to provide more photographs in their biographies.

Dating App Bumble Will No Longer Require Women To Make The First Move

The application will prioritize and emphasize shared interests at the beginning of potential matches’ profiles to facilitate connections between individuals and increasing the likelihood of finding compatible companions.

The modifications have the potential to be crucial in restoring Bumble’s profitability, as the company, which also possesses dating applications Badoo and Fruitz, recorded a net loss of $1.9 million in the previous year. The company’s stock price has experienced a significant decline of 86% since its first public offering in February 2021.

According to Wall Street experts, Bumble is projected to profit $12 million for the first quarter of this year when it releases its earnings on May 8. This is a significant improvement from the $2.3 million loss recorded during the same time last year. The company anticipates a 14% increase in paying consumers, reaching over 3.9 million.

Dating App Bumble Will No Longer Require Women To Make The First Move

“We are extremely fortunate to possess robust financials that enable us to invest in the company’s expansion while also ensuring profitability for our shareholders,” Jones stated. “We are currently at a significant turning point where we have achieved a substantial level of growth and have ample opportunities for further expansion. At this juncture, we can effectively pursue both objectives simultaneously.”

SOURCE – (CNN)

Huawei, the tech behemoth that has become a flashpoint in the Washington-Beijing rivalry, claims it is “back on track” with a solid 2023.

The Shenzhen-based company said Friday that it expects to generate more than 700 billion yuan ($99 billion) in sales in 2023, thanks in part to a stronger-than-expected performance in its electronics division. This represents a 9% increase over the 642.3 billion yuan ($92.4 billion) reported in 2022.

It is, however, less than the about $123 billion Huawei recorded in 2019.

“After years of hard work, we’ve weathered the storm.” “And now we’re pretty much back on track,” said Ken Hu, Huawei’s rotating chairman, in a year-end letter to staff.

The strong performance follows the August launch of Mate 60 Pro smartphone, which stunned industry experts who questioned how the company could have the technology to make such an advanced device in the face of sweeping US efforts to restrict China’s access to foreign chips.

Huawei Was Once Fighting For Its Survival.

According to Counterpoint Research, users have enthusiastically received the smartphone, allowing Huawei to wrest market share from Apple (AAPL) in China.

As of the end of September, The company ranked fifth in the Chinese market, increasing its share from 10% in the first quarter to 14% in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Apple’s share of the pie shrank from 20% to 15% within the same period.

The results of Huawei’s device business “surpassed expectations,” Hu stated in his memo without providing further information.

The Chinese company was once the world’s second-largest seller of smartphones, but it has since dropped out due to punishing US sanctions that have hampered its ability to purchase essential components for its products.

Huawei Was Once Fighting For Its Survival.

Policymakers in the United States have long claimed that Huawei posed a national security concern, claiming that the Chinese government may exploit the company’s technology to eavesdrop. The corporation has frequently refuted the charges and attempted to rehabilitate its image in Washington.

Huawei, on the other hand, has begun to recover this year.

In March, the business declared that it was “out of crisis mode,” and that it was making headway in finding replacements for the components that US sanctions had cut off.

According to Counterpoint analysts in a November research, the company will likely maintain its success in the coming year if it can grow production of handsets powered by Kirin chips, which are recognized inside the Mate 60 Pro.

According to analysts, the business unveiled new smartphones under Nova, its mid-range portfolio, on Tuesday, which are expected to gain appeal due to their relative price.

Huawei Was Once Fighting For Its Survival.

The upbeat forecast contrasts with comments made just last year by a Huawei executive, who stated that the company’s “fight to survive is not over yet.”

“Hard work has enabled us to survive and grow, but we still face significant challenges,” Hu wrote in his memo on Friday.

He noted that “geopolitical and economic uncertainties abound, while technology restrictions and trade barriers continue to have an impact on the world.”

SOURCE – (CNN)

Threads, Meta’s social media app, launched in the European Union five months after it was released elsewhere.

It splashed as a challenger to Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter.
However, it was not made available in the EU, which has rigorous data and big tech regulations.

Meta hopes it will increase interest in the platform, which gained more than 100 million users in its first week before dropping.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, confirmed the announcement in a post on Threads, greeting new users from around Europe.
According to a Meta spokeswoman, the platform has seen “significant improvements” since its rollout in other nations in July.

The absence of important capabilities, such as a website and search capability, contributed to the waning of initial consumer interest.

Meta’s rival to Elon Musk’s X launches in EU

“Starting today, people in the EU can choose to create a Threads profile that is connected to their Instagram account – which means they get the same experience as everyone else around the world – or use Threads without a profile,” according to the announcement.

Threads had lost half of its members just three weeks after its inception, according to Mr Zuckerberg.

The addition of new features has helped it reclaim the majority of them, but Threads remains less popular than X and has far fewer users than TikTok or other Meta platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

Meta has yet to publicly state why Threads’ launch in the EU has been delayed, although it is widely assumed that it is due to the EU’s stringent rules.

In July, a Meta spokeswoman informed The Verge that it was due to “upcoming regulatory uncertainty.”
The EU’s Digital Services Act, which imposes new responsibilities on large technology businesses, was enacted in August.

Threads: Meta’s rival to Elon Musk’s X launches in EU

They are intended to protect users on huge social networks, including regulations on advertising to children, and demand corporations be more transparent with authorities about their algorithms.

Threads request permission to access a wide range of data on your device, including location information, transactions, and browser history.

Whether the being determined has undergone major improvements to comply with EU legislation is still unknown.

However, in October, Meta announced that subscription services would be introduced across most of Europe, removing advertisements from its platforms in response to EU concerns.

It comes after Meta was fined €390 million (£335 million) in January for violating EU data laws regarding advertisements.

The subscription model is only available to EU, European Economic Area, and Switzerland residents and is not available in the United Kingdom.

SOURCE – BBC