Bumble dating app now lets you find besties

Popular dating app Bumble has introduced a new feature that will allow users to swipe left or right to find new mates rather than romantic dates. Known as the "feminist" dating app that lets women make the first move, the option to discover new besties comes via its new Bumble BFF update.

After switching to the new BFF feature, users will see their potential romantic partners replaced by same-sex individuals who are also looking for new friends to "add to their squad." Similar to its regular dating feature, both people will have 24 hours to initiate a conversation if they both swipe right. Within this feature, either person can initiate the conversation.

Conversations will also be color-coded to differentiate between BFF and the regular Bumble dating feature. Your conversation will be green while talking to a potential bestie and yellow when talking to a potential romantic partner.

"So many of our users have been using Bumble to find friends and acclimate to a new city," Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe told Refinery29. "It's a norm amongst men and women that it's hard to find people outside of your pre-existing friendship groups."

According to Wolfe, the company has already seen a 40 percent increase in the number of new users downloading the app in the App Store and Google Play within hours of the new feature going live.

Currently, users are required to use the same profile for both dating and BFF mode. However, the company is working on a dual-profile feature that will allow users to tailor their profile pictures and descriptions based on whether they are looking for romance or friendship.