When you first see your ex on Bumble, it can be a pretty painful experience. Sure, you’ve moved on and are looking for a hookup, or maybe something a little bit more serious. But you didn’t expect they would be. But there they are, in your feed. And all you can do is sadly swipe left knowing that moment in your life is gone, and someone else will have to be the one to match with them.
And then, two days later, they appear on your feed again.
To those new to Bumble, or dating apps more generally, the way certain profiles will repeatedly appear on your feed can feel frustrating or, in this very specific instance, cruel. Can’t Bumble see what you’re going through? And what does it mean if someone keeps coming up on Bumble?
Well, there are a couple of reasons, and none of them involve the app trying to break your heart all over again:
- They swiped right on you: Yes, although the first time they crossed your feed you might have said no, Bumble wants you to reconsider because that person that keeps appearing has given you a swipe right.
- You swiped right on them, but they swiped left: Alright, this one’s a little tougher. Again, Bumble just wants to give you both another chance to reconsider. Either so your winning smile can convince them this time around, or you can realize they’re out of your league.
- You’ve run out of potential matches: Look, there’s only so many people they can show you. If you and your ex live in a small town, it’s no wonder they’re going to turn up again, because who else are they going to show you?
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How Do You Know If Someone Swiped Right On Bumble?
Right, so, I worry the whole ‘it could be that someone that swiped right on you’ thing might have made the situation with the ex a little bit more complicated. Let’s take a second. You’ve moved on. Try concentrating instead on the other profiles that have swiped right on you.
But, how do you know if someone swiped right on Bumble?
If someone does keep appearing on your Bumble feed, even if you have swiped left, it’s likely they’ve been swiping right this whole time. Perhaps, rather than just swiping past, it might be worth having a closer look at that bio, rather than just skipping them left after the first.
There’s also the fool-proof method of just swiping right yourself. If they’ve swiped back then you’ve got a match, and you’ll know for sure they gave you that right swipe. You don’t have to talk to them. But it may damage your ELO score if you don’t.
Additionally, however, there’s always the option to invest in Bumble Premium. By signing up for Bumbles paid services, you get access to their Beeline feature. On the free version, you’ll see a series of blurred pictures, all potential matches that have given you their seal of approval. With Beeline, you’ll be able to see each one of them and decide if the attraction is mutual.
Bumble Premium also comes with a few more useful features including:
- Busy Bee: Allows you to extend the 24-hour time limit on matches, even before the first message is sent.
- Unlimited rematch: If you receive a message from your match but fail to reply in 24 hours, it will disappear. With rematch, you’ll never have a missed connection again as you’ll be able to restart the conversation
- Advanced Filters: Bumbles advance filters allow you to find exactly what you’re looking for, sorting by their stance on children, their politics or even if they’re a smoker.
- Unlimited likes and backtracks to help you maximize your chances of landing the perfect match.
- 5 Superswipes and 1 Spotlight a week
- Access to the Beeline, Incognito Mode, and Travel Mode
If You Swipe Left On Bumble Are They Gone Forever?
So you saw your ex and swiped left, good for you. But now you’re filled with regret and think you might have made the wrong decision, and actually, you had a good thing, didn’t you?
Stop. You have to stop.
What about that other person that came across your matches, the one you only noticed had a great record collection in the background by the time you’d already sent their profile flying to the left? Is there any way to get them back?
Good news, if you’ve swiped left on Bumble there is a way to see that profile again. The bad news is, it’s going to cost you.
Backtrack is a feature of Bumble Boost and Bumble Premium, that allows you to immediately undo any swipes you’ve made in error.
All you have to do is click the left-facing arrow in the top right corner of the swipe screen, and you’ll be able to undo any (anti) matching mistakes you might have made.
So, if you find yourself bored and scrolling too mindlessly through Bumble, only to suddenly have a moment of clarity as your potential dream date swipes off-screen, never fear. Just have your credit card ready.
Does Bumble Show The Same Person Twice?
I… um… I sort of think we’ve covered this, haven’t we? Everything with the ex, remember? Never mind, I suppose there is a little bit more to it than what we’ve covered.
As we’ve said, the app will attempt to show you people again if you’ve swiped left on them. In part, this is simply to give everyone the best possible chance of making a real connection. However, if you stick to your guns and keep swiping left, the algorithm will show you that profile less often.
Essentially it will end up close to the bottom of the pile of potential matches, so depending on the number of eligible users around you it will come up almost never or very often (if there are like, three).
There is another factor to potentially be aware of though. Sometimes people will show up again and again because they’ve made multiple profiles.
Beyond just being annoying, this can be a little worrying. Dating apps do not make this process straightforward, and personally, I see little reason why you would go about doing it apart from creepy ones.
It can often be a sign that someone has had their account banned in the past, or they’re trying to game the system in some nefarious way.
So, if someone does keep appearing on your feed, but each time their profile is different, I’d say you should steer clear.
However, if the same person with the same profile keeps popping up, perhaps it’s a sign (if you believe in that sort of thing), or the algorithm is sure you’re meant to be together (perhaps more likely). Or, you know, you live in a tiny town and there’s no one else to match with.
Can I Find Someone Specific On Bumble?
When searching for love, many of us have gotten used to making matches on dating apps, then scouring every social media we have a login for to try and make sure they’re not a murderer before we even consider grabbing a drink. Such are the perils of modern dating.
But is it possible to do it the other way around? If you see someone on Twitter who you think is perfect for you, can you find that specific person on Bumble?
Thankfully, for those of us who value our privacy and security, the answer is no. There is no function on the Bumble app for looking up specific accounts.
However, there are workarounds. It is possible to set your radius to one mile and set a very specific age range in your search filters, to massively raise the chances of finding a particular individual.
But we’d strongly recommend not doing that. It’s too much. Like, it may make you a stalker? And if you know where they work… just ask for the barista’s number!
Being on a dating app can be a very vulnerable experience, and so finding potentially creepy ways to make matches could just be starting things on the wrong foot.
Bumble takes its users’ security very seriously and has a number of tools in place to reassure you when using the app. So be safe, and, more importantly, don’t be weird.
Final Thoughts
So, while the breakup was hard, and seeing your ex on the app, again and again, made things a little harder, we’re thrilled you’re back out there.
However, if the possibility of them coming up on your feed is just too much for you to take, perhaps it’s time to take Dude Hack’s free dating site quiz to see which other app or website would best match your dating needs.
There’s an exciting future of dating out there for you, even if you do have to keep swiping left on your dating past. And believe us, you do have to keep swiping left.
And if you’re just a bit annoyed at seeing the same faces again and again? Well, either they’re big fans of you, or that’s just kinda the name of the online dating game. The possibilities are not infinite. You do sometimes run out of eligible singles in your area!
