Bumble’s paying users are falling as it bids for an overhaul later this year.

As Bumble prepares for a big overhaul aimed at winning back Gen Z users (who are pretty obsessed with dating apps right now), it’s latest earnings still reports that paying users are declining. In the first quarter of 2026, total paying users fell 21.1% to 3.2 million, down from 4 million a year ago.

This has been the story for a few quarters now. However, during the investor call this afternoon, Bumble framed this as a deliberate shift toward more intentional, higher-quality users.

So while total revenue fell 14.1% to $212.4 million (though it beat expectations) and Bumble app revenue fell to $172.7 million, its total average revenue per paying user rose nearly 9%. It also reported higher earnings: Net earnings rose to $52.6 million compared to $19.8 million in the prior-year quarter (largely due to reduced sales and marketing expenses).

On the company’s investor call, founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd described the decline in paid users as part of an intentional reset. “This is a period of real transformation at Bumble over the last few quarters,” he said. “We have executed a deliberate reset of our member base. We made a clear decision to prioritize quality over quantity, focusing on engaged, well-intentioned members. That decision reduced overall scale, but significantly improved the health of our ecosystem.”

Still, even with that framework, it’s hard to ignore a shrinking base of paying users. That’s why a lot of the conversation during the call was more about what comes next. Bumble is asking investors to look ahead to its massive overhaul, which it hopes will eventually reverse the trend.

“When will we start to see an uptick in the numbers that everyone is looking for? Well, the answer is very simple. When our technology and our next-generation recommendation engine can actually help better connect people in more compatible ways and show them who they want to see and go on great dates. That’s where the magic happens,” Herd said.

The overhaul concerns replacing Bumble’s aging technology platform with a cloud-native, AI-powered one so it can improve matches and roll out updates more quickly. This is already starting to roll out to some users and will expand over the coming months.

However, the most notable changes will come later. Bumble said Tuesday that its entire “reimagined” member experience is now expected to launch in the fourth quarter, with a broader rollout continuing through the end of this year and early next year. That’s a little later than previously expected and shows that it will be more of a gradual release than a big one-off re-release.

And the changes themselves seem quite significant. The company is making a big bet that the swipe model is outdated and that most matches never become actual dates. The company wants to solve this problem by redesigning profiles, changing the way people interact, and focusing much more on getting users to meet each other in real life.

AI is a big part of that plan. Earlier this year, Bumble inserted something called “Bee,” a built-in matching system that learns daters’ preferences, relationship goals, and communication style, and then suggests matches based on those factors. In a feature called “Dating,” Bee can even explain why two people are a good fit before they connect.

Profiles are also changing. Bumble has been experimenting with more detailed, “chapter-style” profiles that go beyond simple photos and a brief bio.

Additionally, Bumble is seeing some momentum outside of dating. Your friend-centric app, Bumble BFFadded a Groups tab last year where users can join chats, plan meetings, and host events. According to Herd, engagement there is growing, especially among Gen Z women. Additions to the group nearly doubled between December and March, the company touts.

For now, Bumble is in wait-and-see mode. The hope is that by fixing how people go from matching to dating, users can be kept coming back. But until that new experience is fully available, it will remain just a gamble.