How to Use Tinder

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This article was co-written by Laura Bilotta. Laura Bilotta is a marriage and love expert, matchmaker, and founder of Single in the City, a dating and relationship consulting firm based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With over 18 years of dating counseling experience, Laura specializes in dating, relationship, and human behavior coaching. She is the host of the radio show Dating and Relationship on channel AM640 and Apple Podcast. She is also the author of “Single in the City: From Meetings & Breakups to Love & Marriage, stories & tips to find your perfect match.”

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This is an article that shows you how to use Tinder – an online “matchmaking” application. To use Tinder, you must first install the app and create a login account. Once you have an account and you’re familiar with Tinder’s interface and settings, you’ll quickly pair up with other users.

Table of Contents

Create Account

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Download the Tinder app. You can download the Tinder app for iPhone from the App Store or Google Play Store if you have an Android operating system.

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Open the Tinder app with the white flame icon.

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Tap the blue LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK button at the bottom of the screen.

You will need the Facebook app and a Facebook account to create a Tinder account.

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Select OK when asked to allow Tinder to access your Facebook information.

If your Facebook login information is not saved on your device, you will have to enter your Facebook registered email address and password first.

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Select Allow when asked to enable location services for Tinder.

To use Tinder, you must have location services turned on.

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Decide if you want to receive notifications. You can choose either I WANT TO BE NOTIFIED or NOT NOW . After this step, your Tinder profile will be created from your Facebook account information.

Tinder is a free app, but you can buy Tinder Gpd if you want to use more features.

Learn the Tinder interface

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Check out the Tinder site. You’ll see a photo in the center of the screen – this is a profile picture of a Tinder user near you.

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See the icons at the bottom of the screen. These icons allow you to interact with other users’ profiles. The meanings of those symbols in order from left to right are as follows:

Undo – Tapping this yellow arrow takes you back to the previous swipe. However, you must purchase the Tinder Plus service specifically for this function.
Dislike – The red X icon is used to ignore other people’s profiles. You can also swipe their profile to the left to do this.
Boost – The purple lightning icon will increase your profile impressions for 30 minutes. You get one free booster per month.
Like – The green heart icon is used when you like someone’s profile, helping you two match if they like you too. You can also swipe their profile to the right to do this.
Super Like – Use this icon when you like someone else’s profile and want them to know it. You get three free “Super Likes” per month. You can also swipe up someone’s profile to do this.

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Check Tinder messages. You will select the chat icon in the upper right corner of the screen to see the conversation with the people you are paired with.

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Switch Tinder to group mode. Although Tinder is the leading dating app, tapping the slider at the top of the screen will turn on the regular friend mode.

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Select the profile icon. It’s the human-shaped icon in the upper left corner of the screen. This will open your profile to set some options.

Manage your settings

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Select SETTINGS with the gear icon on your profile screen to open your Tinder settings.

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See the “DISCOVERY” setting (Search). This setting affects how you search on Tinder and what objects you see.

Location on iPhone, Swiping in on Android: Change your current location.
Maximum Distance on iPhone, Search Distance on Android: Expand or narrow the matching object search radius.
Gender on iPhone, Show me on Android: Select the gender you’re interested in. Currently, Tinder has options for Men (Male), Women (Female), and Men and Women (Male and Female).
Age Range on iPhone, Show Ages on Android: Increase or decrease the age you’re interested in.

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Learn more settings. You can adjust your notification settings, view the privacy policy, or exit Tinder from this menu.

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Select Done on iPhone or

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on Android at the top of the Settings page to return to your profile.

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Select

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(Edit info) in the bottom right corner of your profile picture.

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View your current photos. The image section is at the top of the Edit Info page. There are a few things you can do at this step:

Touch and drag a photo into the big picture frame to change the main profile picture.
Select the x in the lower right corner of the photo to remove the photo from Tinder.
Select + in the bottom right corner of the photo frame to post photos from your phone or Facebook.
You can also push the Smart Photos slider to the right to let Tinder choose photos for you.

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Enter self-introduction. You will type the content in the “About (Name)” section.

The intro allows you to use only 500 characters.

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Find out your personal information section. You can adjust some information such as:

Current Work – Tap to see other options for your current occupation.
Schop – Select a field from your Facebook information or select None .
My Anthem – Select a song from Spotify to set as a personal song.
I Am (I Am) – Choose your gender.

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Select Done on iPhone or

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on Android at the top of the screen.

On iPhone, you’ll tap the down arrow icon at the top right corner of the screen to return to your profile page.

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Tap the flame icon in the upper right corner of the screen to return to the Tinder homepage and start searching for the right person.

Surfing for objects

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Swipe someone else’s profile to the right if you like them. You can also tap the heart-shaped icon. This means you like the profile and want to match them.

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Swipe the profile to the left if you want to skip it. You can also tap the X icon. This will stop the profile from continuing to appear on your Tinder page.

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Waiting for pairing. If you like someone and they like you too, it means the two of you are matched; you will receive notifications and can chat with them via message.

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Tap the message icon in the upper right corner of the screen.

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Tap the name of the paired person. You’ll see their name on the message page, but you can still use the search bar at the top of the page to find a specific person.

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Send an impressive first message. If you’re actively communicating with others, you should make sure your first message is friendly and confident without being obvious.

Avoid just saying “Hello,” instead, say “Hi, how are you today?”
Try to impress with your first message.

Advice

Avoid using Tinder while traveling as it can affect where you want to find your match, even after you’ve returned home.

Warning

Indecent or soliciting behavior may result in your account being locked.

Steps