Most people meet on dating apps these days. So, if you are wondering how to use Tinder, we have your answers. Here’s how to be successful on the app.
If you want to know how to use Tinder, it’s not that difficult. In fact, it’s a lot better than the old days. Believe it or not, there used to be a day when people actually placed “personal ads” in newspapers to get a date. Yes…that was the Stone Age. You might be wondering, who would actually do something like that? Believe it or not, a lot of people did.
Enter the digital age, and now online dating and dating apps have become the norm. From Match.com to OkCupid, there are endless options for all of us to find a date, a relationship, or to just get laid.
And Tinder is one of the most popular ones. It does have the reputation of being a hookup app, but believe it or not, you can find a lot of normal people on there who are actually looking for relationships.
Does Tinder actually work?
Some people love Tinder, and others hate it. But for people who have never tried it, you might wonder, does it actually work?
Well, you first have to define the word “work” because it means different things to different people. If by “work” you mean, can it get you a lot of people to talk to? Yes. And if it means getting people to have hookups with, then it’s a “yes” to that too. [Read: 48 Tinder conversation starters and secrets to get them itching to respond]
But what if you want to define “work” as finding a serious relationship or someone to marry? Does it work for that? The answer is “yes” as well. But, you have to be very discriminatory. There are plenty of people who met on Tinder and got married.
However, there are probably more people who just meet and hook up or casually date from the app. It’s not impossible to find people who want committed relationships, but you have to be realistic with your expectations.
With that said, you never know until you try. You just have to have the right mindset and be able to distinguish who are the time-wasters and who are the people who are more serious. [Read: How to get laid on Tinder – 24 rules and photos secrets to get hookup-lucky]
How to use Tinder – The mechanics and walkthrough you need
Many people avoid Tinder like the plague because of its sleazy reputation. But if that’s you too, maybe now you should reconsider. Don’t worry – you can actually have a good time and be successful, but first, you need to know how to use Tinder.
Let’s start with the basics.
1. Swipe right, swipe left
Tinder is pretty superficial because most people just look at the photos of someone and decide whether they like them or not. You can write a bio, but some people don’t even read it if they’re just looking for a hookup.
So, if you like someone, you swipe right. That means you like them, and you hope they like you too. If they swiped right on you too, then you will show up as a match.
If they didn’t, then you’ll never see them again. If you don’t like someone, then swipe left. And hopefully, you’ll never see them come up again either. [Read: 15 Tinder tips you can NOT ignore of you ever want a date]
2. Swipe up
You might not have heard of swipe up, but it means a “super like.” Kind of like an, “Omg I never thought a person like this ever existed and I want them to know how awesome I think they are – even more awesome than a simple swipe right!” You should use them sparingly, however.
3. Unmatch
You might not know that you can unmatch people. But you can. Sometimes you accidentally swipe right when you meant to swipe left. Or you accidentally super-liked someone and you are horrified because you had absolutely no interest in them.
No worries. You can always unmatch them. Or, even if you start talking to them and they get creepy, feel free to unmatch them. [Read: 15 Tinder tips you cannot ignore if you ever want a date]
4. Message
Once you match with someone, then you can start talking to them. It’s kind of like texting. But there are so many people who never do send messages, which is kind of weird. Why would you bother matching with someone and never contact them? Food for thought.
5. Disable discovery
Maybe you’re sick of Tinder and want to take a break for a while. Or maybe you met someone amazing and you want to focus on dating only them. That’s cool. You can tell Tinder to not show you to anyone until you say otherwise. That’s called “disabling discovery.”
6. Location and distance
This is one of the basic things about how to use Tinder…it is based on distance. The point of that, in the beginning, was if you were out drinking with friends and felt horny, you could find someone in the general vicinity to meet and have sex with.
But you can set how close or far you want to go to meet someone. Even if you travel for business, the location will automatically change for you when you’re in a new city. [Read: Online dating woes – 8 most common Tinder horror stories]
7. Preferences for age and gender
As with most online dating sites or apps, you can set your preferences. So, even if you’re gay or bi, you can set a preference for gender. And of course, age is always something you can set and search for.
8. Tinder Plus
When learning how to use Tinder, you probably have already figured out that it’s free. However, there is a paid option called Tinder Plus. Basically, let’s say if you accidentally swiped left when you meant to swipe right, Tinder Plus will allow you to undo your swipe. But if you don’t have Tinder Plus, you can’t undo your swipes… so you’re out of luck.
9. Photos
Unless you are only looking to get laid, put some respectable photos of yourself. And put several. Make sure you’re smiling and looking friendly.
And also, remember to put a full-body shot too. Because let’s face it, unfortunately, people are shallow and want to know what your body looks like before they meet you. [Read: How to start a Tinder conversation and snag a date every single time]
10. Your bio
You don’t HAVE to write something, but you really should. And don’t say something stupid like “If you want to know, just ask.” That is lazy, and it isn’t impressive. Give the people a good impression of who you are as a person. It’s not that difficult, people! [Read: Good tinder bios that get you dates – 12 tweaks for a perfect bio]
11. Start a conversation and keep it going
You’re on Tinder to meet people, right? So, unless you just want to boost your ego and see how many people like you, then start talking to people!
And don’t keep it going on forever – actually meet up with them. And please be respectful and don’t ghost on someone if you’ve been talking for a while. That’s not classy. [Read: Apps like Tinder – 12 hand-picked alternatives to try something new]
12. Don’t use it if you’re married or in a relationship
This may sound obvious to most of us, but trust me, it’s not to many people. There are a lot of people in bad marriages or relationships who want to cheat. That’s not cool. And it’s not fair to the rest of the single people on there who actually want to find a real relationship. If you’re married, get divorced before you use Tinder. Seriously.
13. Put some effort into it and don’t give up
Dating apps can be frustrating. There are a lot of weirdos out there, and so it can be easy to think there are no good fish in the sea, but there are. It may take a while to find one, but if you stick with it and don’t give up, then you’ll eventually find who you’re looking for.
How to do well on Tinder
Now that you know some of the basics of how to use Tinder, let’s talk about how you can do well. After all, that is the point, right? So here are some things to remember if you want to make the most out of the dating app. [Read: What to say on Tinder – 30 secrets to make your texts impress anyone]
1. Don’t skip your bio
As we already mentioned above, your bio is very important. If you don’t write anything, it’s very likely that someone will skip right over you.
The reason for this is that if someone can’t be bothered to write at least five lines, then they don’t think that’s an attractive quality. They will think you’re lazy and lack attention to detail. You should write at least 100 characters.
2. Have a lot of photos
The more pictures you have, the more matches you’ll get. Tinder is a very visual dating app *well, they all are* so you will definitely get more attention if you have a lot of photos. Let’s face it – people want to know what you look like.
Make sure you use your best photos so that they know what you look like. But make them realistic. Don’t use too many filters because then you become an unrealistic version of yourself. And no one likes to meet someone who doesn’t look like their photos. [Read: Good Tinder bios that get you dates – 12 tweaks for the perfect bio]
3. Connect Instagram with your profile
If you have Instagram, it’s a wise idea to connect it to your Tinder profile. If you want to say more on your bio but you can’t because of the 500-character limit, then people can get a better impression of who you are from our Instagram.
When they look at your Instagram, they can get a better feel for your personality, and what you like and don’t like, among other things. And the great thing is that you don’t have to manually upload photos from Instagram. It automatically syncs with Tinder and new photos are immediately seen on the dating app.
4. Let your intentions be known *sometimes*
If you’re there to find a serious relationship, then you need to say that in your bio. Because if you don’t, then you will have people who are only looking for sex or a hookup contacting you too. When you make your intentions known, you will weed out the people who are looking for different things than you are. [Read: Tinder fuck – how to find the hottest hookup with this dating app]
On the other hand, if you are only looking for sex, you might not want to say that outright. Even if other people are only looking for sex, being so obvious and upfront about it might turn people off. So, you might just want to say “I’m not looking for anything serious.” They’ll get the hint and it’s much more tactful to say it that way.
5. Be active on Sunday evenings
According to the statistics from Tinder, Sunday evenings are the best time to be on the dating app. That’s because most people aren’t working that day. And they might even be feeling lazy that day and so they lay around searching around Tinder.
Another reason to swipe on Sunday evenings is that you might get to talk to matches in real-time. Since most people are on during that day and time, they might talk to you immediately and so you don’t have to wait to get a message from them. [Read: Should you meet your Tinder match? When, where, and how to be safe]
6. Watch for red flags
Whether it’s in their bio or when you are messaging them, you need to keep your eye out for potential red flags. For example, if you want a serious relationship but someone starts asking you about sexual preferences, then you are not a good match.
Use their bio and messaging to get to know them and see if you are compatible before you meet them. Sure, small talk is fine, but the whole point is to see if the two of you would be good together. You don’t want to waste your time, do you?
[Read: How to get laid on Tinder – 11 must-follow rules for a sexy hookup]
Whether you love or hate the dating game, it is a necessary means to an end. And now that you know how to use Tinder, why not give it a shot? It can’t hurt. Even if it doesn’t work out, you’ll have some funny stories to tell!
