The Chats tab is where all your conversations and active matches are stored. Once you’ve matched with someone, you’ll find them in the "Your Matches" section.
In heterosexual connections, women decide who makes the first move. For same-gender or non-binary matches, either person can start the conversation. For more guidance, take a look at our article on replying to Opening Moves.
If someone has an Opening Move set, you can reply to it, regardless of whose move it is, to start a conversation.
If it’s your turn to make the first move, just tap their profile photo to start the conversation.
You can:
- Send a message
- Send a GIF
- Send photos from your camera roll or take one in the chat
- Record and send a video
- Play the Question Game
- Request Photo Verification (if they haven’t already verified)
Prefer to keep things more real-time? You can also send a voice note or start a video call directly through the Bumble app—without sharing your phone number.
If the 24-hour timer is running out and you're not ready to message (or still waiting for a reply), you can use Extend to give the match more time. Everyone gets one free Extend per day, and Bumble Boost, Premium, and Premium+ members can extend unlimited matches.
Just so you know, Bumble doesn’t show read receipts when you send or receive a message, or your online or activity status. We believe conversations should feel comfortable and low-pressure, so we keep things simple by not including features like read receipts and activity statuses.
If you’re waiting for a reply, try to give the other person some time. People might be busy, thinking about what to say, or just not checking the app as often.
Please note that messages can’t be deleted individually once they’re sent. If you’d like to remove a conversation from your Chats tab, you’ll need to unmatch the member. This removes the entire chat from your view and prevents future contact. Keep in mind that unmatching only removes the conversation on your side; the other person will still have their copy of the messages.