Tinder isn't easy, nor is it a particularly friendly place.
You spend all of this time going through your best photos, and dolling yourself up to take selfies, then expend endless amounts of energy racking your brain for interesting things to put in your bio, and subsequently chop and change around the words constantly to make sure these other lonely soles get a fair interpretation of who you really are.
How little clothing can I wear without seeming desperate? Does a selfie in my bedroom make me seem like I have no friends? What friend can I get in a photo with to make myself look better? There's just so many questions, and so little answers. Well not anymore, because GQ have interviewed the CEO of Tinder, Sean Rad(definitely a fake name), and he broke down exactly what you need to do to get people swiping right.
On Profile Photos
"You should definitely put your best foot forward on Tinder. Your first photo is what people are going to see before they even click on your profile. Choose a picture that represents you best - whether that's you in a suit, or jeans and a T-shirt. It's pretty well-known that smiling in photos helps you to be perceived as more friendly too.
"I've talked to a lot of people about Tinder etiquette and the general consensus is that shirtless gym selfies are a huge 'NO.' You're on Tinder to meet new people - the last thing you want those people to think is that you're too self-absorbed or narcissistic to hold a real conversation."
On Instagram
"There's also a bit of a workaround on the photo limit - link your Instagram account to your Tinder profile. It's a great way to give your potential matches a deeper look into your personality, interests and filtering skills."
On Writing A Bio
"Never skip the bio section - girls are 99 per cent less likely to swipe right on you if you aren't willing to share some basic info about yourself.
"Keep it short and sweet. Include a hobby or two, a quote from one of your favourite TV characters, what types of people you'd like to meet, or a fun fact. It's not a bad idea to show how strong your emoji game is, either. While an obscure reference may puzzle some, it could also help find you the perfect match."
On Opening Lines
"If your first message just says 'hi', you're far less likely to get a response."
"Say something that shows you took the time to read their bio and look at their profile photos. There is no one-size-fits-all perfect opening message - everyone is different."
It all seems fairly standard, but it's interesting to see that people are obviously overthinking it, and making basic mistakes. That's just a couple of segments from the whole interview, which you can read in full over here, but if you don't have time for that, here's some quick do's and dont's.
Do
Show photos of you with animals, while traveling, playing music, being creative, smiling, being sporty or active, being in any possible way fun or interesting.
Don't
Take photo's in the gym or with your shirt off.
Simples.
