What To Do If You Run Out Of People To Match With On Bumble

Putting yourself out there to find a date is an inherently vulnerable act. Sitting at home being single is easy — you can tell yourself you're alone because you're quite literally alone in your undies eating a sleeve of those Japanese rice crackers — but as soon as you download an app and start swiping, you are officially making an effort. If you aren't inundated with matches, your ego can feel a little bruised.

It's also possible to actually run out of people to match with on Bumble, which is the equivalent of having your ego popped like a balloon in the hands of a three-year-old. As someone who lives in a city of over eight million people, this hasn't happened to me... yet. Still, it does happen; there's an entire Reddit thread dedicated to the topic, and some of the posts broke my heart.

So if you're low on matches, is it because you live in a tiny town in Ohio, or is it because you're a leprous, unlovable troll? (Spoiler alert: It's never the latter.) Here's what to do if you run out of matches on the Bumbs.

The Official Answer: Put Yourself Out There More

According to Bumble's actual help page, if you run out of matches or aren't matching as much as you want, it may have something to do with your profile itself. As counterintuitive as it is, if you are feeling deflated by the lack of buzz on your profile — sorry, had to — then you actually just may not be active enough on the app.

Bumble says:

The more you play the game, the more chances you will have to find a match! Don't forget that you can add up to six photos to your profile, and having more photos will increase your chances of receiving right-swipes. We can also let you into a little secret: Higher quality photos always perform better!

Online dating is scary, and people want to see you before swiping right on you. Not just for shallow "hot or not?" reasons, but to get a sense of what kind of person you are. If you're the kind of person who puts up four bikini shots in a row, that suggests something about you. If you choose fun, outdoorsy pictures, that suggests something very different. A profile with one solitary picture is not going to maximize matches, so if you run out of Bumble matches, start by updating your profile and swiping more often.

Keep An Open Mind... And Set Of Preferences

This is a very straightforward step you can take to fix the problem of being matchless. If you don't live in a major city, you have to be less particular about your preferences. If you open your preferences to matches who are further away, you are opening yourself up to more potential baes. It's simple math.

There are other ways you can open your profile up to more matches. Have you specified your age range as looking for future SOs from 25 to 30 years old? Bump that number up — or down — a bit. 31-year-olds usually have their lives together in a way that feels lightyears away from 29-year-olds anyway.

Remember To Not Beat Yourself Up

The thread I read on Reddit about not getting matches on dating apps hurt my heart a little bit:

I promise you that not getting matches does not mean that there is something wrong with you. Love is finicky and weird, and finding it is very hard. (I mean, why the F else did Rachel pick Bryan on The Bachelorette finale?)

Bumble is a piece of technology, an app designed to help you connect to other people, but it is not perfect. I have definitely swiped right on someone only to have them pop back up moments later. I've also seen male friends on the app, inactive, after months of being in exclusive relationships. It's an app, and there will be bugs.

Plus, people aren't checking Bumble every day. On Bumble, you need to message your matches within the first 24 hours, and according to this 2016 study, this usually doesn't happen.

Reading "no more matches available" on Bumble does not mean that there are no matches for you in real life. Trust me.