How To Optimize Your Dating Profile, According To Tinder's Trend Expert

So you're in a Tinder rut. You've selected your best photos and labored over a bio that you hope makes you come off intriguing, a little weird, and yet normal in the important ways, but you're still not really finding your people. Swiping fatigue is real, and it happens to the best of us. So we tapped the expertise of Tinder’s dating and relationship trends expert, Dr. Darcy Sterling, for some hard data and tips on how to optimize your Tinder profile in order to get more right-swipes and connect with people you'll actually like. No catfishers allowed!

When it comes to photos, says Dr. Sterling, there are a couple major no-no's: sunglasses and hats. In a study, Tinder found that wearing glasses in a profile picture decreases a user's chance of being right-swiped by 15%, and wearing a hat decreases your chance by another 12%.

As far as composition, Dr. Sterling stresses the importance of showing your entire face and avoiding those artsy angles (sorry, sad boys of the world). Smiling makes you 14% more likely to be right-swiped, and facing forward improves your odds by 20%. And be sure to have enough photos on your profile to begin with — 81% of users include at least four.

If you're not sure how to order your photos (and let's be real — the first one can make or break your odds of being right-swiped by people too lazy to go through the rest), there's a Smart Photo feature, which uses an algorithm to order your photos according to what will be most popular. During initial testing for this feature, users saw an increase of up to 12% in matches.

Dr. Sterling adds, "Sometimes three pictures of the same person can look like pictures of three different people, so make sure all your pictures look like the same person is featured. Create some variety by uploading some face shots, a full-body shot, and a picture of you doing an activity you love."

Whatever you do, don't leave your bio blank. But if you don't know how to fill up that empty space, Dr. Sterling suggests keeping it simple: "Include a quote from your favorite TV show, share what your ideal first date looks like, or ask a question to make it easy for your potential match to start a conversation."

And if words aren't your thing, you can supplement by adding your Spotify picks or connecting to your Instagram — both give other users a more comprehensive look into what you're about and can be great ice breakers once you match. But if, once you do match, you have no idea what to say (we've all led with an overly enthusiastic and/or weird greeting, only to...not get a response), Dr. Sterling suggests sending a GIF, since users who do are 30% more likely to get a reply.

According to Tinder's 2018 Year in Swipe, the most popular month to swipe is August, and the most popular time and day is Monday at 9 p.m. ET in the U.S. Because what better way is there to combat the Monday night blues than with a good Tinder convo to get excited about?

"Everyone can relate to Mondays being a rough day of the week, and it makes sense that people would come home from work and use Tinder to unwind from the day," says Dr. Sterling. "If you think about it from a psychological standpoint, using Tinder takes people away from focusing on what they don’t want, and it helps them focus on what they do want."