Handles are currently only available to members in the USA using iOS.
Interested in someone? Whether you meet IRL or get introduced through a friend, handles give you a simple way to connect on Bumble.
Your unique @handle lets someone find your Bumble profile without you needing to share your phone number or personal social accounts. They can view your profile and choose to Like or vote “not for me”, but they can’t message you unless you both like each other to match.
Handles are completely optional. If you create one, you can tap ‘Hide me from search’ at any time to stop people finding your profile using your handle. Your handle will remain yours while it’s hidden, unless you delete your account.
To create your handle:
- Open the ‘Profile’ tab
- Select the ‘Handles’ tab at the top of the page
- Tap ‘Create handle’ (if you haven’t photo verified yet, you’ll be prompted to do so first)
- Enter your chosen handle and tap ‘Save’
Bumble will check that your handle is available and meets our guidelines before you can save it.
Once it’s created, you can tap ‘Hide me from search’ under your handle to control whether people can use it to find you. You can change this setting at any time.
To edit your handle:
- Open the ‘Profile’ tab
- Select ‘Handles’ at the top of the page
- Tap ‘edit’ on your handle
- Enter your new handle and tap ‘Save’
You can change your handle once every 30 days. Once you change it, your old handle will no longer lead to your profile, so remember to update it anywhere you’ve shared it. Your previous handle will be reserved for 30 days before it can become available to someone else.
Choosing your handle
Your handle must be between 3 and 15 characters long. You can use letters, numbers, and underscores.
For your privacy, avoid using your full name or other personal information.
Handles can’t include:
- Spaces
- Punctuation
- Domain extensions, such as .com or .org
- Special characters, such as $, %, *, @, or !
- Emojis
- Letters with accent marks (diacritics), such as é, ñ, or ü
- Words, terms, or expressions that violate our community guidelines
Finding someone using their handle
To find someone, open Bumble and enter their exact handle in Search by @handle. You can’t search by name, use a partial or similar spelling, or browse other people’s handles. You can also only find members in the same country as you.
When you open their profile, you can choose to ‘Like’ them or select ‘Not for me’. Your like will only be visible to them if you meet their dating preferences. You won’t be able to message them unless they also ‘Like’ you back and you create a match.
Who can find me using my handle?
Any verified member within your country can find your profile through your handle (even if they fall outside your filters like distance, age etc.).
If someone Likes you through your handle, you’ll only see them if they are within your filters.
A few other things to know:
- Your location won’t appear when someone opens your profile through your handle
- You can turn off your handle’s visibility at any time by tapping ‘Hide me from search’
- If you’re using Incognito Mode, you will not be discoverable by handle search
- Anyone you’ve blocked won’t be able to find or interact with your profile using your handle
- If someone has already voted on your profile, they can still find and view it again using your handle, but the Like and pass options won’t be shown
Only share your handle with people or audiences you’re comfortable allowing to view your Bumble profile.
Check out our dedicated article for more information on Staying safe with Bumble Handles.