Dating App Bumble to Ban Gun Images From User Profile Pictures 

The popular dating app Bumble announced on Monday that it would join the growing list of companies that have finally made policy changes these past few weeks in response to several mass shootings and renewed calls for gun control, by banning pictures of guns from its users’ profile pictures. Bumble also announced it would donate $100,000 toward March for Our Lives, the nationwide gun protest scheduled for later this month.

Bumble founder and chief executive Whitney Wolfe Herd told the New York Times on Monday that 5,000 moderators will be tasked with looking over new and existing user profiles and flagging images of guns. Nearly 30 million people use Bumble.

There are some limits to the new policy, for instance, Instagram pictures, which can be integrated into Bumble profiles, will not be subject to this rule. Also, users who have worked for the military or in law enforcement will be permitted to wield guns in photographs if they’re wearing uniform. It’s a caveat that seems, for lack of better words, difficult to police, but moreover, it seems to suggest that some kinds of gun violence (i.e. those with the blessing of the government) are preferable to others.

In her interview with the Times, Herd said that gun control is a complex issue, and that’s pretty much the extent of her comments. “This is not super black and white,” Herd said. “It’s a very tricky battle we’ve chosen to take on, but I’d rather pursue this than just ignore it.” Yet somehow joining the political fray does not amount to a political decision. “This is not politically driven decision, nor a decision driven by hatred of people’s personal beliefs or choices,” she said. “Not everyone’s going to love us for it, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Herd told the Times that Bumble also eventually would like to phase out the mere mention of guns from written content on the app.