Are women done with dating apps, or with dating? 

Bumble’s recent ad campaign, which featured slogans including “you know full well a vow of celibacy isn’t the answer” and “thou shalt not give up on dating and become a nun,” has met with swift backlash from consumers. Social media was soon awash in posts from women interpreting Bumble’s new ads as “shaming celibacy/abstinence” and “undermin[ing] women’s choices.”  

Bumble, which let 350 employees go in February due to falling subscriber numbers, differs from other dating apps in its permanent “ladies’ choice” model.