5 things you can't do on Bumble

We can't have everything we wish for in life. And that same rule applies to dating apps, unfortunately.

On Bumble, there's plenty of nifty features to take advantage of. For starters, the app isn't just for finding love (and lust), it also has two non-dating modes that let you expand your professional network and make new friends.

Bumble now offers trauma support to survivors of sexual abuse if they met their abuser through the app. It also banned fatphobic messages, body shaming, and comments that are ableist, racist, colourist, transphobic, or homophobic.

The pandemic also meant adapting to ~ unprecedented times ~ and pivoting to video dates (Bumble has had a video call feature since 2017). Bumble will also alert you when someone tries to send you an explicit photo, and it has a digital snooze button that lets you take a mental health break and alerts your matches that you're taking a digital detox (so they don't think you're ghosting them).

So, yes, there's a lot you can do on Bumble. Here are three things you can't do.

1. Find someone specific on Bumble

To clarify, you can definitely use Bumble to find someone in the sense of meeting people who might turn into partners. But, can you use Bumble like a telephone directory, like LinkedIn, or Google? No, my friend, you cannot. Because...privacy and safety!

2. See who likes you without paying for Premium

Obviously it'd be great to know who fancies us. This would be useful in real life too, not just dating apps. But hey, maybe this advice is useful: if they like you, you'll know, and if they don't, you'll be confused. If you want to know who likes you on Bumble, you'll need to upgrade to Premium.

3. Change your location without paying

Want to swipe in another city? You'll need to use Travel Mode using Bumble Premium. Your Bumble location is tethered to your phone's GPS, so depending where you are in the world, your swipes will be determined by your precise location.

4. Create a Bumble account without a phone number or Facebook

Sadly you'll need one or the other of these two things, either a phone number or Facebook.

5. See if someone is active on Bumble

Users' activity status is hidden on Bumble. But if you're swiping on the app, you'll only be served profiles of users who've been active in the past 30 days.

Go forth and swipe!

Related Video: We asked over 1,000 people about their post-COVID dating plans