Apps

Bumble launches standalone app for finding platonic friends

It’s called Bumble for Friends

Published

August 5, 2023

Martynne De Leon

While Bumble is more popularly known as a dating app in the Philippines, it has an option where you can look for new friends. And I mean platonic friends. It’s called the BFF Mode, one of Bumble’s features since 2016.

Just recently, Bumble finally launched this feature as a standalone app called “Bumble for Friends”, recognizing the growing online connections in today’s young generation.

“Friendship is just as important to our mission [as to romance], which is why we are so excited by the launch of the Bumble For Friends app in the Philippines,” says Lucille McCart, Bumble’s APAC Communications Director.

According to Bumble’s latest research, Gen Zs want to make new friends but they don’t know where to meet people and are intimidated by approaching people IRL.

Bumble for Friends aims to make meeting friends easier, less awkward and more fun. The features are quite similar to Bumble date where members see profiles for potential friends based on common interests, swipe right on profiles they would like to connect with, and are notified if a match is made. A person has 24 hours to begin a conversation.

You can create a group chat, too. Here’s how:

Any member can create a plan for a group meetup with at least two of their connections from the conversations tab.
A member selects a planned activity from a list of suggestions or creates their own.
Once a member selects a plan theme or creates a title for the group chat, they can invite at least two of their matches.
Their matches receive an invite in their chat that is titled the name of the planned activity, which can be edited.
Anyone who accepts the invite can join the group chat and start discussing any of the meetup details.

In fact, Bumble revealed in another survey that 3 out of 4 (74%) people globally are keen to find their ‘tribe’ or a group of like-minded people that they can create real friendships with. Additionally, more than half (68%) of those surveyed are keen to find new friends in their local area for the convenience of meeting up and doing things together.

Anyone currently using BFF mode with the Bumble app who wishes to migrate their profile and connections into the Bumble For Friends app will be able to skip the set-up and easily do so upon downloading and logging in as an existing member.

Once a BFF profile is moved over to the Bumble For Friends app, BFF mode is no longer available in the Bumble app. However, The Date and Bizz functionality remains.

“We can’t wait to see how Bumble For Friends has a similar impact on our ability to connect socially and build platonic love in a time when so many of us feel disconnected,” adds McCart.

Is it a match?

I personally met a lot of new friends digitally, especially during peak pandemic years. I can say that it’s fun and exciting to meet people online with similar interests. It’s even more fun when we got together IRL!

Bumble for Friends offers everyone a chance to find their people. If you’re an introvert looking for a new tribe, or maybe you have a new interest and you’re searching for likeminded people to share it with, this app can be a match for you.

Bumble for Friends is now available on Apple Store and Playstore.

Related Topics:Bumble Bumble for Friends

Apps

Apple Creator Studio: Creative apps bundled into single subscription

All the tools you need, one payment

Published

January 14, 2026

GadgetMatch

Apple has officially streamlined its popular creative apps into one single subscription suite with the introduction of Apple Creator Studio.

The collection includes some of the most useful apps for today’s creators: Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage.

New AI features and premium content in Keynote, Pages, and Numbers also make the Apple Creator Studio an exciting subscription suite. Freeform will eventually be added to the lineup.

The groundbreaking collection is designed to put studio-grade power into the hands of everyone. It builds on the essential role Apple devices play in the lives of millions of creators worldwide.

The apps included cover video editing, music making, creative imaging, and visual productivity to give modern creators the features and capabilities they need.

Final Cut Pro introduces exceptional new video editing tools and intelligent features for Mac and iPad.

For the first time, Pixelmator Pro is also coming to iPad with a uniquely crafted experience optimized for touch and Apple Pencil.

Logic Pro, meanwhile, for Mac and iPad introduces more intelligent features like Synth Player and Chord ID.

Apple Creator Studio will be available on the App Store beginning January 29. In the Philippines, the rates are PhP 399 a month or PhP 3,990 annually.

There is also a free one-month trial which includes access to:

Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro on Mac and iPad
Motion, Compressor, and MainStage on Mac
Intelligent features and premium content for Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and later Freeform for iPhone, iPad, and Mac

College students and educators can subscribe for a discounted price of PhP 149 per month or PhP 1,490 per year.

Apps

Apple gives up on making AI, inks a deal with Gemini to power Siri

Gemini gets another feather in its cap.

Published

January 14, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

In the not-too-long-ago past, the biggest names of the tech industry competed to build their own AI software. Now, though some brands are still on the hunt, it’s easier to name certain software that have more successfully drowned users in a flood of AI-powered features. Today, Google gets another win by adding Apple’s Siri to its Gemini cap.

In the past, Apple peddled Apple Intelligence, an upcoming AI-powered system to compete against the giants of the industry. However, much like other features from other brands, Apple Intelligence came out half baked with features still lacking months after the initial launch.

Now, Apple has signed a deal with Google to use Gemini for a revamped Siri. The former plans to launch a new version of Siri later this year. Because of the deal, the voice assistant will start using Gemini as a foundation for its own services. Currently, Samsung’s Galaxy AI already uses Gemini.

Formerly a battleground between so many competing brands, it’s now looking like a battle between two major companies: Google and OpenAI. Google now has a huge grip, though. Both Samsung and Apple are no slouches when it comes to owning market share in the world’s smartphones.

Now, as consumers, Apple’s deal probably doesn’t mean much besides the continued influx of features that add little to no value to a smartphone.

Apps

Microsoft continues to shove Copilot where it’s not wanted

This time, it’s reportedly coming to File Explorer.

Published

January 14, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

If you look at a modern keyboard, you’ll find that the Copilot button is the cleanest one on the entire panel because no one ever willingly presses it. And yet, Microsoft still believes in the feature’s value. To show their odd commitment, the company is reportedly adding Copilot to File Explorer.

According to @phantomofearth from X (via Windows Central), a new Windows 11 preview build will add a button beside File Explorer’s navigation menu. Currently, the button is invisible and doesn’t do anything. However, the report says that the feature is tied to something called “Chat with Copilot.” It’s becoming clear that the system aims to add the AI software right inside the file organization app.

Besides revealing the potential addition of the egregious feature inside File Explorer, @phantomofearth also added mock-ups of a desktop with Copilot right on the taskbar, hinting at a potential nightmare of the feature lording itself over where it’s not wanted.

Thankfully, the preview build doesn’t always represent a final version of the system. There’s still a chance that Microsoft will not add the AI to the File Explorer.

As of late, Microsoft has received a lot of flak for persistently pushing Copilot onto users, regardless of how they feel about the feature. The company is also facing criticisms in the background for being a major proponent of AI data centers in the United States, which, in turn, have caused the prices of tech to skyrocket this year.