Apps Like Bumble BFF in 2026: Where to Make Friends Now

If you used Bumble BFF, you may have noticed it has moved. The friendship side of Bumble is now its own app, simply called BFF, and it looks different from the swipe mode inside the dating app. Some people like that. Others want something else: no swiping, no profile, no city limit, or less pressure to message first.

This page covers what BFF is now, and the main alternatives, compared honestly.

Checked October 2026.

Olu is an independent app, not affiliated with Bumble, BFF, Meetup, Timeleft or any app named here. Product names are used only for comparison. Features, prices and age rules change; check each one yourself.

What happened to Bumble BFF

Bumble BFF began in 2016 as a mode inside the Bumble dating app. In 2023 Bumble launched a standalone app, Bumble For Friends. In September 2025 it relaunched again as BFF, rebuilt on Geneva, a community app Bumble bought in 2024. Geneva members were moved across, and the Geneva app was shut down.

What the current BFF app offers, from its App Store listing and press coverage:

• One-to-one matching and private messages, as before.
• A Groups area for chat rooms, hangouts and a calendar of events.
• Selfie verification: the listing says every match has passed it.
• An 18+ age rating. The listing says everything in the app is free.

Availability depends on where you are. In the US, Bumble says the old Bumble For Friends app and BFF mode no longer work and points people to BFF. Press coverage said the older app stayed available outside the US, so check your own store.

Why people look for something else

• It's built for your city. If you live somewhere small, or want friends in other countries, local matching has little to offer.
• Matching is not friendship. One reviewer who tested friendship apps said BFF conversations often fizzle out quickly.
• Swiping feels like dating. Photos and bios suit some people and put others off.
• It can feel like work. Writing a profile and messaging first is a lot if you are tired or shy.
• You may want groups, or one chat. Different people want different things.

What to look for

1. How you meet people. Events, swiping, groups, or one chat. Pick the one you will really use.
2. Where. Nearby, or anywhere in the world.
3. Cost. Free, free with extras, or paid from the start.
4. Age rules. Check them if you only want to talk with adults.
5. Safety tools. Block and report, and moderation that answers.

The alternatives at a glance

	How you meet people	Where	How you talk	Free to use
BFF (for comparison)	Matching and groups	Your city	Chat, video calls in groups	Listing says everything is free
Meetup	Join groups, go to events	Local, with online events too	In person, group chat	Joining groups is generally free; some extras cost
Timeleft	Booked dinners with strangers	200+ cities	In person	Paid, plus your own food and drink
Slowly	Matched by interests	Worldwide	Letters that take hours or days	Free, with paid extras
Discord / Reddit	Join servers or communities	Worldwide	Text, voice	Free
Peanut	Matching and groups	Nearby	Chat	Free, with extras
Olu (18+)	One tap, someone online now	Worldwide	Text only, translated both ways	Free, no ads

Olu

Olu is the odd one out on this list, because it is not about your city at all. You tap once and you are matched one-to-one with a person online right now in another country, which is chosen at random. Every message is translated both ways, with the original visible, so you can talk to someone without sharing a language.

• Text only. No video, no voice.
• No profile browsing and no swiping.
• Free, no ads, and it runs in any browser on phone or desktop. Nothing to install.
• Adults only, 18 and over. It asks for your birth year when you join.
• Filtered and reportable. Messages are filtered before delivery, and every chat has block and report.
• Postcards. Write a postcard that someone abroad can answer later, so you are not stuck if nobody is online.

Honest limits: no video, no voice and no group rooms. You cannot choose the country, age or gender of who you meet. If no human is free, you may meet an AI local, always labelled as AI. And it will not help you meet people in your own town.

Meetup

Meetup is the nearest thing to the "groups" half of the new BFF. You choose what you like, join groups for hiking, board games, books or being new in town, and go to their events. Many groups also run online events. Joining groups is generally free, and some extras cost money.

Best for: friends you can see every week. Watch out for: it depends on how active the organisers near you are, and one reviewer described the interface as dated.

Timeleft

Timeleft matches you with a small group of strangers for dinner, drinks or coffee. You choose a city and time, and the place and the people are revealed shortly before. Its site says it operates in more than 200 cities, and it is open to anyone 18 or over.

Best for: people who want real-life meetups with the planning done for them. Watch out for: it costs money, you pay for your own food, and you need a city where it runs. See its site for the current price.

Slowly

Slowly is a pen-pal app: you write letters to someone in another country, and they take hours or days to arrive, depending on how far apart you are. Writing letters is free, and extras cost money. If BFF feels rushed, Slowly is the opposite. See apps like Slowly.

Best for: long, thoughtful friendships. Watch out for: it is slow by design.

Discord and Reddit

Both are communities rather than matching apps. On Discord you join servers built around games, hobbies or languages. On Reddit you can post in friend-finding communities and wait for replies. Both are free, and you can read for a while before you say anything.

Best for: people with a specific interest. Watch out for: you must find the right community yourself, and quality varies a lot.

Peanut

Peanut is aimed at mothers and women going through similar life stages, and connects them through matching and groups. It is free, with paid extras. It is the right pick if that describes you and a poor choice if it does not.

Which one should you pick?

• You want to meet people in your town: Meetup, then BFF.
• You want planned meetups with strangers: Timeleft, if the cost is fine.
• You want a friend in another country, today, in your own language: Olu.
• You want slow letters: Slowly.
• You have one hobby and want people who share it: Discord or Reddit.

Most people do better with two: one for people nearby and one for people far away. Whatever you choose, friendships come from talking to the same few people again and again, so the app matters less than the habit. Our guide to making friends online without dating has the steps, the free apps to make friends online list compares more, and random text chat safety tips covers staying safe.