Hulu has released the first trailer for Swiped, a dramatization of Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd’s journey from early Tinder executive to outspoken critic of the platform’s treatment of women. Swiped will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9 before debuting on Hulu on September 19, 2025. Bumble is not directly connected to the film’s production, although its release will most likely cause at least some marketing buzz around the app – which Bumble could potentially benefit from.
Starring Lily James as Wolfe Herd, Swiped portrays her early work as a co-founder of Tinder, her transition to launching Bumble, and the events leading to the company’s 2021 initial public offering. The narrative focuses on Wolfe Herd’s entry into the technology sector, the creation of Bumble’s women-first messaging feature, and the company’s positioning in a competitive dating app market. This feature, which requires women to initiate conversations, has been central to Bumble’s brand identity and has differentiated it from other large-scale platforms.
Despite recent turbulence with Bumble’s own performance – namely its struggles to perform as well as apps like Hinge and recently laying off a large chunk of its workforce, although the app already seems to be recovering from ist recent slumps – this film actually isn’t connected to Wolfe Herd’s recent return. Swiped was announced back in 2024, and may actually come at a critical time for the platform by dramatizing Bumble’s history in a way that may draw more users to the platform.
While not a product of Bumble itself, the biopic is the first major attempt o create this kind of media based on the founding of a dating platform, at least in recent years. Given the nature of the film and its focus on Wolfe Herd creating, leaving and then competing with Tinder, the film will most likely paint Bumble in a good light while throwing some hits back at Tinder’s office culture or past mistakes – which could have a not-insignificant impact on both apps’ audiences if the biopic sees success.
