Dating app Bumble is joining the dozens of major companies that have decided to take the fight against gun violence into their own hands following a string of mass shootings and renewed discussions around gun reform.
Starting immediately all profile pictures with visible guns and other deadly weapons like knives will be banned. Bumble is using a team of 5,000 contracted content moderators to sift through newly uploaded profile pictures as well as existing ones.
In a conversation with TechCrunch, Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd explained that this move shouldn’t be seen as the startup taking a hard stance against (or for) guns or gun owners – rather it’s the dating app taking a hard stance against normalizing violence on their platform.
And because the issue isn’t black and white, there will be an appeals process – for example, a competitive sports shooter may be able to have their photos restored. Additionally, there will be an exception for active military or law enforcement in uniform. Bumble also won’t censor photos from user’s Instagram account, which can be optionally shown on a user’s Bumble profile.
This isn’t the first time the dating app has banned certain content in an effort to build a respectful and kind network. They’ve previously banned trashy mirror pics and underwear shots, and have publicly kicked off individuals who have sent hate messages on the platform.
Bumble is also making a $100,000 donation to March For Our Lives, the anti-gun violence event/organization started by Parkland student survivors.
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