As part of an advanced interaction design course, I was challenged to extend an existing product—Bumble—by adding a cross-platform screen-based feature. The prompt focused on increasing user engagement through precise location notifications. My final deliverable was "Join The Moment", a feature that lets users post time-sensitive, public stories visible to nearby users for 30 minutes, designed to drive real-time interactions.
Role PlatformsUX Researcher & Designer iOS, Android
Tools DurationFigma, Excel 3 Weeks
Bumble aimed to boost engagement among unpaid users and increase opt-ins for its precise location services, particularly for newer segments like BFF (friend-finding) and Bizz (networking).
The company had piloted a feature called Proximity Alert, notifying users when potential matches were nearby. However, early signs pointed to low and declining adoption, shallow engagement, and unclear user value.
At the same time, competitors like Snapchat and Zenly were creating more playful, social approaches to location-sharing, blending time-sensitivity with privacy control. This posed a strategic question:
How might we create a location-based feature that drives engagement without compromising user comfort or control?
RESEARCH GOALS
I wanted to understand what prevents users—especially those on the free plan—from turning on precise location services, and what might motivate them to engage more actively with Bumble in real time. This meant exploring both behavior patterns and user expectations around location-based features, with the goal of identifying what kind of experience could feel both exciting and safe. Ultimately, I hoped to uncover the next steps toward designing a lightweight, engaging interaction that encourages location opt-in across different user segments.
METHEDOLOGIES
I wanted to understand what prevents users—especially those on the free plan—from turning on precise location services, and what might motivate them to engage more actively with Bumble in real time. This meant exploring both behavior patterns and user expectations around location-based features, with the goal of identifying what kind of experience could feel both exciting and safe. Ultimately, I hoped to uncover the next steps toward designing a lightweight, engaging interaction that encourages location opt-in across different user segments.
METHEDOLOGIES
- Secondary Research
- Behavioral Data Analysis
Secondary Research
I explored how other platforms design for real-time engagement, urgency, and perceived value around location features.
I explored how other platforms design for real-time engagement, urgency, and perceived value around location features.
Location needs context to feel
worth sharing
Apps like Snapchat and Zenly don’t rely on always-on tracking. Snap Map only updates when users open the app, and Zenly made sharing feel casual and fun through short-term interactions like “pops” or being visible for just a few minutes. This helped users feel in control, while still encouraging real-time presence.
Time-limited interactions lower privacy concerns
When users know their location or content will only be visible for a short time, they’re more open to sharing. Zenly’s features were successful because they felt low-stakes — you didn’t have to stay “on” all the time to participate.
Bumble doesn’t offer a reason to stay visible
On Bumble, users can update their location once and then turn it off—continuing to swipe based on that last known spot. For most, there’s no real benefit to keeping precise location on. It’s treated as a utility, not something that adds value in the moment.
Without a feature tied to real-time presence or visibility, users—especially on the free plan—have little motivation to share their location beyond setup.
Behavioral Data Analysis
I analyzed behavioral data from a 6-month experiment with the feature called Proximity Alert. This feature sent users a notification when a potential match was nearby. The goal was to encourage timely interaction and increase the use of precise location services.
The dataset spanned five major cities, across three segments (Dating, BFF, Bizz), and included metrics such as adoption rate, click-through rate (CTR), interaction rate, conversion rate, time on screen, and feedback sentiment.
The dataset spanned five major cities, across three segments (Dating, BFF, Bizz), and included metrics such as adoption rate, click-through rate (CTR), interaction rate, conversion rate, time on screen, and feedback sentiment.
Across all cities in the dataset, adoption rates for the Proximity Alert feature consistently declined over time across Dating, BFF, and Bizz segments. The chart below shows this trend using Austin as a representative example, but similar patterns were observed in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Washington DC.
Adoption rates dropped by ~5% across all cities over six months. The data suggests that proximity alone wasn’t enough to lead to meaningful ongoing use.
Free users made up the majority, but didn’t engage deeply:
With ~80–90% of users on the free plan, there was clear opportunity—but their conversion and interaction rates remained low. For these users, receiving a passive alert didn’t feel valuable or actionable.
3.
Proximity wasn’t enough to spark interaction
Despite being notified when matches were nearby, CTR averaged below 2%. The feature lacked a compelling reason for users to act on the alert—location alone didn’t create urgency.
FINDINGS
PERSONAS
🧑🦰
Jade Lin
Age: 24
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Occupation: CMU Grad Student
Relationship Mode: BFF
Goals:
- Find genuine local connections without pressure
- Stay socially aware but maintain privacy
- Join hangouts or experiences that feel spontaneous but safe
👨🦱
Brian Flores
Age: 26
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Content Creator
Relationship Mode: Dating & BFF
Bio:
Brian spends a lot of time working in different parts of the city — shooting events, meeting clients, or editing from cafés. He’s social and spontaneous, and when he has free time, he’s usually open to hanging out or meeting someone new. But for him, most dating apps feel slow and transactional — all swiping and waiting, without any real sense of who’s nearby or open to connecting now.He keeps his location on in Bumble, but it hasn’t felt useful. Unless a match happens to come through at the same moment, it doesn’t lead to much.
Goals:
- Feel more present and discoverable when he’s open to connecting
- Share what he’s doing without needing to commit to a full conversation
- See if anyone nearby shares his vibe or might want to join
What stood out across both behavioral patterns and user perspectives was a recurring disconnect: Bumble’s current location-based features weren’t offering enough real-time value — especially for users who browse passively or are hesitant to stay visible.
Join The Moment.
UX/UI DESIGN
DESIGN GOALS
- Increasing the conversion rate of non-paying users
- Encouraging more users to enable the location service (precise location service that enable a timely interaction)
- Attract more users in all categories especially for BFF and Bizz
DESIGN DECISIONS
Make visibility intentional, not passive
→ Why: Users didn’t see a reason to keep location on continuously.
→ Design decision: Instead of background sharing, Join The Moment makes visibility a temporary, opt-in choice — tied to an action and a vibe.
Introduce a 30-minute time limit
→ Why: Users wanted casual, real-time interactions without pressure or long-term exposure.
→ Design decision: The ephemeral window keeps the experience low-pressure and spontaneous, encouraging engagement while reducing hesitation.
Build for multiple user types (e.g., Jade vs. Malik)
→ Why: Personas revealed that some users are passive browsers, while others want to share and initiate.
→ Design decision: Join The Moment is designed to support both — users can post or simply explore others’ moments nearby。
Keep the interaction lightweight
→ Why: Overly complex flows or prompts could deter casual users or first-timers.
→ Design decision: The posting flow uses minimal taps, and the feature lives within existing navigation without disrupting other use cases.
DESIGN PROCESS
User Flows
Three main flows: Browse moments (gallery), Browse moments (map), Post moments.
Legend:
Flows:
DESIGN SYSTEM
At first, the goal was just to improve conversions on location-based notifications. But as I dug into the research, it became clear that the real issue wasn’t just about the alerts — it was that people didn’t see a reason to stay visible in the first place. That shifted my focus. Instead of trying to optimize a notification, I asked: what kind of interaction would make users actually want to turn on their location? That’s how I got to Join The Moment.
Behavior data helped surface trends (like declining adoption of Proximity Alert), but it was only through qualitative insights that I understood what was missing. That balance between numbers and user perspective helped me make stronger, more focused design decisions.
Test how users respond to Moments
I’d like to conduct usability testing to understand how people actually use Join The Moment — whether the time limit makes them more likely to post, if they feel comfortable with the visibility settings, and whether it adds meaningful value to their experience.
Explore what happens after swiping
A lot of Bumble’s interaction ends at the swipe. I want to think about what comes next — how to turn that moment of connection into actual engagement. That might mean designing a smoother handoff into the chatbox when someone engages with a Moment, or adding context that makes starting a conversation easier.
Make real-time features feel more connected
Moments opens the door to real-time interaction, but there’s more to explore. Future iterations could include lightweight prompts, live activity filters, or small nudges that help users feel like they’re part of something happening now — not just browsing profiles.
To address this, I began designing a lightweight interaction that could make presence feel more intentional, timely, and socially rewarding. The following section outlines the design process behind → Why: Users didn’t see a reason to keep location on continuously.→ Design decision: Instead of background sharing, Join The Moment makes visibility a temporary, opt-in choice — tied to an action and a vibe.→ Why: Users wanted casual, real-time interactions without pressure or long-term exposure.→ Design decision: The ephemeral window keeps the experience low-pressure and spontaneous, encouraging engagement while reducing hesitation.→ Why: Personas revealed that some users are passive browsers, while others want to share and initiate.→ Design decision: Join The Moment is designed to support both — users can post or simply explore others’ moments nearby。→ Why: Overly complex flows or prompts could deter casual users or first-timers.→ Design decision: The posting flow uses minimal taps, and the feature lives within existing navigation without disrupting other use cases.