Relationships are a very valuable thing in society. We are a social species, we crave emotional connections with one another. Maintaining meaningful relationships with family or friends is key for mental health. The human brain is hardwired to seek a group to belong to and to feel bad whenever we feel alone. The pandemic caused a big part of the physical component of a relationship to wane away, but intensified the use of the web as a tool to seek out new people to meet and make connections with. Be it a romance, a one-night stand, or even a new friend, you can find anything on the internet. One of the most noteworthy markets in the relationship-building world is online dating.

Finding dates online is a very controversial topic. A lot of discussions come from it: can you trust people you meet online? Can you create meaningful relationships with strangers on the web? What about other ways of dating? And what about traditional relationship values? While online dating apps are very criticized, at least 30% of Americans have reported using one, and 12% have married or committed to someone they’ve met online, according to Pew Research.

So, let’s say that you’re interested on finding new people online. Your first option may be Tinder, as it is arguably the most popular online dating app around. However, Whitney Wolfey Herd, previous vice president of Marketing at Tinder, would disagree. The American entrepreneur left Tinder in 2014 after a lawsuit for sexual discrimination and harassment. Following this, she founded what she describes as a “feminist dating app”, what we know today as Bumble. With Bumble, you can meet people close to you that share your interests and state if you are looking for friendship or for dates.

Bumble works very similarly to Tinder. You are shown the profile of potential matches and you need to swipe right to show your interest or swipe left to reject the match. Bumble stands out because, in heterosexual matches, only the female user can start a conversation. Same-sex conversations can be started by any of the parties. In 2019, Bumble was the second most popular dating app in the US, and in 2021 the platform reported having a user base of 40 million people.

This dating site comes with a lot of features. After a match is made, a conversation where both parties answer must be started within 24 hours, or the match will disappear. This was made as an update to combat ghosting. A BFF mode allows users to signal that they are looking for friends and not dates. Users can also backtrack on their left swipes by shaking their phone, up to three times a day. In 2019, voice and video calls were added for users who have made a match. Bumble also has a paid subscription service which comes with additional features. These include a list of users who have liked your profile, the ability to contact profiles with expired matches, and the ability to extend your time window to start a conversation with a match by 24 hours. Premium also comes with a “Super Swipe” feature that allows users to like other profiles and notify them about it.

Unfortunately, like most dating platforms, Bumble has met with mixed opinions. Some common criticisms specific to the platform include the time limit to start conversations, constant push notifications, and its lack of refund options. There are also some concerns when it comes to privacy. Before 2018, Facebook was the only option to sign up for the app. Later, an option to sign in with a phone number was added. Users who register using Facebook have some of their information shared on their Bumble profile. Bumble users’ locations can be taken from the app, and have even been sold in the past by private companies.

You may like the idea behind the app, but maybe you feel a bit cautious about sharing information online. To sign up for the platform you need to give away your phone number or use a Facebook account. But there is one alternative: you can use a virtual number to create your account, bypassing the need to share your personal number. In this guide, you’ll learn how to do just that.

Step 1: sign up on Bumble

First, go to your trusted browser and type “Bumble” on it. The first link that pops up should be the one, click on it.

Hit the “Join” button located in the center of the screen.

Now, they ask you to continue with Apple or Facebook, click on “Use cell phone number” instead.

They’ll ask you to enter your phone number. To follow this step, you need a Non VoIP number.

Step 2: get a temporary number

Go to our website and sign in, or sign up if you don’t have an account with us yet. These options are available at the top right corner of our homepage.

Once in, go to “Services” and then to “Short-term numbers”, but first make sure the top tab says “United States” as we’re using a US number to create the Bumble account.

Now, search for “Bumble” on the search bar. Click on the blue “Purchase” button to get this number.

Mark the checkbox to confirm your purchase and the discount off your balance. Click on “Next”.

Copy and paste the number shown on the Bumble page. Then, click on “Continue”.

Step 3: verify with the number

Before they send the code, you need to pass the security captcha.

Now, you’ll be asked to provide a code sent to the number.

Hit on “Next” on our website to get it and enter it on Bumble’s page.

Step 4: set up your profile

Add your name, and hit “Continue”.

Now add your birthday.

Select how you identify as.

Add some photos of yourself, you can upload them from your computer, Instagram or Facebook.

Allow location access.

And lastly, agree to the terms and conditions.

And that’s it!

Congrats! Now you have created a Bumble account without using your real phone number, just one provided by us, Major Phones. Have fun meeting new people in this awesome app!