Bumble Interest Cards

I was tasked with designing an enhanced precision location service for Bumble. The goal was to use precise location data and timely notifications to help users discover nearby matches faster, create stronger real-world connection opportunities, and increase Premium conversions — supporting Bumble’s mission to build a safe, meaningful platform for dating, friendship, and networking.

A direct look at the design

The four states the feature has to serve

Before the process, here are the four states the feature has to serve.

Despite Bumble’s large active user base, most aren’t Premium subscribers. Users struggle with low visibility of location features, insufficient notifications, and an unclear value proposition around location services. The result is missed opportunities for nearby connections — particularly in BFF and Bizz — which reduces engagement and conversion potential.

This Interest Cards feature lets users post and discover location-based activities in real time. It serves BFF and Bizz users who want to meet new people or build local networks — by lowering the barrier to self-expression, surfacing nearby events, and creating more contextual touchpoints for Premium conversion.

I ran interviews and secondary research with people who had recently relocated, looking at how they start conversations and attend offline meetups. Users felt uncertain approaching strangers through generic profiles, but responded positively when activity-based context was provided. Female users emphasized safety and control — and many were willing to enable location once they could see a personal benefit.

Competitive analysis

Patterns worth borrowing

I reviewed social, dating, and events apps for patterns in how they use location and activity cues to drive engagement. Four stood out:

1. 01Contextual anchors help people decide faster on joining an event.
2. 02Location-based suggestions reliably increase offline interaction.
3. 03Trust-building cues — mutual interests, photo previews — make interactions feel safer.
4. 04Short, visually striking text posts lower the self-expression barrier.

Data analysis

Friendship and networking peak in the warm months

Behavioral data showed that conversion for BFF and Bizz rises through spring and summer, when people are most open to forming friendships or professional relationships — while dating stays steady year-round. That seasonality informed a context-driven, location-based design.

Ideation

Context-rich, low-friction posts

The core gaps were a lack of contextual entry points and unclear value around location. I explored Interest Cards — short, context-rich posts like “Looking for a running buddy at Tepper Gym this week” — and sketched multiple creation flows, each focused on adding activity, time, and location with minimal friction.

Site map

Layered into Bumble’s existing IA

This site map shows how Interest Cards integrate into Bumble’s existing product structure. Building on the current IA keeps the learning curve low, strengthens engagement, and creates clear entry points for monetization.

User flow

Initiator and receiver paths

Two primary flows document the experience: initiators posting cards, and receivers discovering and responding to them.

To increase conversion, I embedded a few key interaction points across the initiator and receiver sides — each placed where it removes real friction.

The prototype was built for a consistent cross-platform experience across mobile and desktop.

Android & iPhone

Same flow, native details

The flow is identical across Android and iPhone; only the visual and spacing details are tuned to each platform’s native patterns — corner radius, keyboard height, and screen ratios — for a familiar, seamless feel.

Desktop

One screen, more control

Desktop offers a larger canvas and more simultaneous control. I consolidated card editing onto a single screen, so users can adjust text, style, and location without page transitions.

I tested a click-through Figma prototype over two weeks with 30 BFF and Bizz users — free and Premium. Average task completion was under 20 seconds, with an 87% success rate. 73% found card creation intuitive, and 68% said location recommendations made it easier to act. I folded the feedback into the final design.

This project let me design a feature that bridges user needs and business goals through intentional interactions. Adapting one experience across platforms took care, and the work reinforced how data-informed decisions and small interaction details shape behavior. With more time, I’d keep collecting behavioral data to refine when — and to whom — a card is worth surfacing.

Next steps

Where this goes next

1. 01Refine cross-platform responsiveness for mobile, desktop, and Apple Watch.
2. 02Enhance empty states to proactively guide users toward creating or joining activities.
3. 03Optimize notification logic for more relevant, timely recommendations.