11 Ways to Upgrade the Hell Out of Your Tinder Profile

Online dating sucks. But what if I told you that with a few tips and tricks, it doesn’t have to? Here’s news for you, girl: Yes, you can control the quality of your matches solely based off of how you set up your own bio.

And the best part? Hopefully, you’ll never have to deal with one of those peeps who leaves you stuck in texting purgatory—or worse, someone who’s way better via text than they are IRL.

To save your sanity and standards, Tinder’s dating and relationship expert, Darcy Sterling, PhD, gives tips on how to optimize your Tinder profile to make you stand out in a sea of “Looking for my Jim Halpert” bios, you’re welcs.

1. Show your personality.

“Everyone needs help initiating a conversation,” says Sterling. So include facts like whether or not you are a huge Game of Thrones fan, believe in pineapple on pizza, or stan Ariana Grande’s new album. Use your bio as a place to let your personality shine and give your matches enough intel about you so they can easily strike up a convo.

Pro tip: Offer up an open-ended question in your bio—like, “If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be?”—so that people can respond directly to you with an answer.

2. Be direct.

You don’t have to straight-up say “Serious Inquiries Only” (this isn’t a job interview!), but you can definitely make it known that you’re looking more for a potential DTR convo rather than a late-night “WYD?” text. If you’re able to directly state what you’re looking for (but, like, in a cute way), this gets rid of all the people not looking for what you are right from the beginning. Write something like, “Looking for someone to impress the hell out of my parents with their Kansas City Chiefs knowledge.”

3. Wear bright colors.

I get it, I know you rock that LBD so well, but show off some colour. It makes you pop! Plus, if your feed is anything like the peeps in New York, swiping through a swarm of black-shirt profiles will make your profile look unique, and they’ll naturally have to stop and check out your profile more in-depth.

4. Show your fave activities.

If you’re brunching every weekend, snap a picture of you with that mimosa. (But if you don’t like drinking, don’t include a picture of you sipping on anything unless it’s water or coffee.) If you love museums, choose the photo that shows you gazing at a piece of artwork. You want your profile to look as genuine to YOU as possible.

5. Nix the hat and sunglasses.

People want to see your gorge face, duh! Wearing sunglasses in your photos “can come across as being standoffish,” explains Sterling. Plus, whether you’re wearing a hat or sunglasses, anything that hides your face decreases your chance of a right swipe by 12 percent, according to Tinder’s data.

6. Turn on “Smart Photos” in your info tab.

This Tinder feature tests your top pics and automatically puts the one with the most right swipes at the very front. In other words, Tinder does the work for you, ensuring you get more matches. Let them work their magical algorithm!

7. Don’t hide behind your friends.

We get it, you have friends. But this is YOUR dating profile, not theirs. Keep the pictures focused on you so that everyone knows very clearly who they’re swiping right on.

8. Use all of Tinder’s features.

Sterling recommends linking your Instagram to your Tinder Profile so it shows you’re not hiding anything. And don’t worry about getting random, creepy follows from peeps you swiped left on—they can’t see your IG handle from your Tinder profile.

You can also debut your fave bop by adding a Spotify anthem, which gives matches just another thing to bond with you over.

9. Insert a Loop.

Aka the Boomerang of Tinder. It’s a two-second video that can be posted to your profile. Use it just because it’s cute and fun and it breaks up your static pictures a little bit more so people can see more of your personality.

10. Show full-frontal.

Face straight ahead in your profile pics—and while you’re at it, smile! Individuals who are directly facing the camera in pictures are 20 percent more likely to be swiped right on, relative to the peeps facing sideways or not showing themselves really at all.

11. Create a cute quiz.

This is just another great way to build a conversation-starter directly into your bio for your matches. For example: “What’s your Sunday go-to? (A) Hitting the gym, aka sweating out all the alc. (B) Do I smell mimosas? (C) Taking my Frenchie to the doggy park, because, duh. (D) Bingeing all true-crime docs.”