How Does Bumble Location Work? FAQs About Bumble Location

by Aaron Roussey Updated On Aug 25, 2022 Published On Jun 15, 2021 Tips

The biggest worry that most people have with dating apps that use GPS location to match users is that that they may record location data and make it public.

One of the most popular location-based dating apps is Bumble and despite its popularity, most people still worry that the app may record their location.

As a result, most people have various questions about the exact process that Bumble uses to match users. The following are some of the most important ones.  

How Does Bumble Location Work

1. How Does Bumble Location Work?

Bumble has set itself apart from other location-based apps like Tinder because it doesn’t run in the background.

When you close the app, it remains completely shut down until you get a match or a message from one of your matches.

If you don’t open Bumble, the app has no information about your current location.

When the app is closed, Bumble will only display the last known location which will appear as the city name on your profile.  

Other users of the app will not be able to see how far away you are from them until you open the app.

2. When Does Bumble Update Your Location?

Bumble will update the location only when you open the app. While the app remains closed, other users will only be able to see your last known location. (which is the last place you were when you last opened the app.)

Once the app detects a new location, the location will be displayed on the app right away.

If you change your location but don’t open the Bumble app, the app doesn’t update your location. It continues to show the last location where you were.

For example, if you are in New York and open the Bumble app to check your matches, Bumble will display New York as your current location.

If you then close the app and go to New Jersey, Bumble will not update the new location like New Jersey and anyone looking at your profile will see your location as New York.

3. How Often Does Bumble Update Your Location?

Bumble will only update the app as often as you open the app and your location has changed.

If you open the app, but your location remains the same, then Bumble will not update your location.

But if you change the location and open the app, Bumble will then update the location.

4. How Accurate Is Bumble Location?

The location displayed in the Bumble app is fairly accurate and the app seems to tell where you are with some certainty.

The first search results that appear when looking for matches are probably the users who are closest to your location.

But location is not the only factor that Bumble takes into consideration. The popularity of a user’s profile photo will also determine the photos that first appear when you’re looking for matches on Bumble.

But there are times when the location you see in Bumble can be wrong. This can happen when the app is unable to tell the difference between one town or another.

For example, if you live in an area that closely borders a neighboring town, Bumble may mistakenly display your location as the border town instead of the actual town where you live.

5. Can Bumble Track Your Location Even if You Are Not Active?

No, Bumble will not track your location unless you use the app. Bumble’s creators were involved with the creation of Tinder and therefore many of the settings on both apps are the same.

The biggest difference however is that you have to use Bumble for the app to update your location.

This means that if you open Bumble but not swipe at all in the app, check your messages or send a new message, the app will display your last known location.

6. Can You Turn Off Bumble’s Geotracking?

No. Bumble is a location-based app and therefore there is no way for you to turn off its geo-tracking feature.

But it is possible for you to block Bumble from accessing the actual location of your device.

If you do succeed to block Bumble from accessing your location, you will severely limit the app’s functionality.

7. When Bumble Shows a Distance Does that Mean the Person was Active Recently?

No necessarily. This is because Bumble will show you the distance of the profile from the last time, they logged in.

This is why you might see a potential match’s profile showing that they are 10 miles away only for the distance to change to 15 miles in a second.

This means that the last time the person opened and used Bumble, they were 10 miles from you, then they logged out and traveled an additional 5 miles before using the app again.

8. Can You Trick Bumble?

It is possible to use a GPS location spoofing tool such as MockGo to hide your current location and change the GPS location on Bumble.

After that, the app will show you potential matches in the location that you choose on the MockGo. For example, if you use MockGo to place yourself in London, Bumble will only show you matches in London.

And like we have seen before there is no way to disable location tracking since this is the main feature that the app uses to link you with potential matches.

If you try to disable location tracking, Bumble will only display an error message until you turn it back on.

Conclusion

There is always a risk to privacy when using location-dating apps like Tinder and Bumble since this is the main method, they use to connect you with potential matches.

It is therefore up to you to determine if the risk is negligible enough that you can feel comfortable enough using the app anyway.

The questions above can help you make that determination. If there are any that we may have missed or a follow-up question that you may have, post it in the comments section below and we’ll do our best to provide a satisfactory answer.

Aaron Roussey
Meet Aaron, our tech-savvy team member who has probably touched more grass than all of us combined, simply because he can't afford to miss a Legendary raid in Pokémon GO. When he's not on the quest to 'catch 'em all,' you'll find him at his computer, covering everything you need to know about phones, games, computers, and all things tech!
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