Here's What To Do If You Accidentally Unmatch With Your Potential Soulmate On Bumble

Sometimes it’s fun to imagine what life would be like if you hadn't quickly and carelessly swiped left on that person on a dating app who might’ve been your soulmate. Losing people online and wondering how you can find them in the vast darkness that is cyberspace is a real phenomenon. Have you ever accidentally unmatched and then desperately tried to figure out if you can rematch with someone on Bumble? You’re not alone, but the truth is that the odds of reuniting with this person are not in your favor — so hopefully it wasn’t Charles Melton’s Bumble profile that you missed.

It used to be that if you unmatched with or accidentally swiped left on someone on Bumble, they would eventually show back up in the algorithm again, so not all hope was lost if you thought you missed out on “the one.” It just required some patience. Now, however, that is no longer the case: Bumble does not resurface unmatched profiles.

“We don’t resurface profiles that were accidentally swiped left on or unmatched,” a Bumble spokesperson tells Elite Daily. “However, if you've accidentally swiped left, you can use our ‘Backtrack’ feature — just tap the arrow on the top left corner of your screen.”

The Backtrack feature is only a part of Bumble’s paid subscription options, Bumble Boost and Bumble Premium. And if you don’t already have a subscription, you will be presented with options to subscribe when tapping the backtrack button to revisit the profile you just swiped left on.

How Do You Avoid Deleting Bumble Members?

When it comes to unmatching, Bumble does have some measures in place to prevent accidental match deletions. The app has an additional step to verify that you want to unmatch with someone, in hopes of making it less likely that someone will accidentally delete a match, because once you do, it’s permanent.

Still, it’s bound to happen that people do accidentally unmatch with or swipe left on someone they’re actually interested in. This kind of #BumbleFail has been documented many times on social media. For example, here’s one Reddit user’s experience with the debacle:

I dragged my finger the wrong way when trying to read our conversation and accidentally unmatched us! We had a date set up for Saturday but did not exchange numbers... I'm trying not to be bummed out. Is there anything I can do? I've tried searching FB For name + location but nothing pops up. Help!!

— u/Oopsunmatched

Should You Delete Your Profile And Remake It To Find This Person?

One idea is to delete your Bumble profile and reactivate it, hoping that the person’s profile will show up in your new queue. It is important to note, though, that even though deleting and remaking your profile might resurface a match you missed, Bumble does not recommend this method. “We actually advise against deleting and recreating your profile,” the Bumble spokesperson says. “You can lose other existing matches and the conversations you’ve had with them.”

Additionally, despite there being no automatic punishments or “shadow bans” for deleting and recreating your Bumble profile one time, the app has stated that “users who create multiple accounts in a short time (e.g. making five profiles in the span of two months) naturally tend to have fewer matches.” This is simply because other users who see a profile more than once often think it’s either a technical bug or a bot — and spam is not sexy. If you recreate your profile over and over, “you can run the risk of getting warned or blocked from Bumble permanently,” according to the app.

Will You Ever See Your Potential Match Again?

Still, all hope is not lost on your missed Bumble connection. There is a chance you will see this person on another dating app, if you’re using more than one. Given that 48% of 18- to 29-year-olds in the U.S. say they have used dating apps, you’re bound to find some overlap.

Long story short, you can’t magically undo unmatching or swiping, unfortunately. But even if you’re bummed after you unmatch or accidentally swipe left on Bumble, the great thing about dating apps is that there are lots of great people out there using them. The best thing you can do for your chances of finding a connection is to keep a positive outlook on the process, according to dating app expert and online dating coach Perri Schneider.

“Just stay calm and optimistic and in a good headspace,” Schneider tells Elite Daily. “Dating is just a numbers game. If something doesn’t work out, just keep going, keep moving on. The best thing you can do to maintain your sanity is just be happy. Be confident and do things that feel good to you.”

Author John Steinbeck once wrote, "Nothing good gets away," when it comes to love. And if fate is really on your side, the same will go for Bumble matches (or missed matches), too.

Studies referenced:

Anderson, M., Vogels, E. A., & Turner, E. (2020). The Virtues and Downsides of Online Dating. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/02/06/the-virtues-and-downsides-of-online-dating/

Experts:

Perri Schneider, online dating coach and dating app expert