Tinder Algorithm [in 2024]: How Does It Work & How To Hack It?

Did you optimize your profile and are you still struggling with getting matches on Tinder? Well, how about if we say that getting an attractive profile is not enough? You also have to know how the Tinder algorithm works and how you can hack it to maximize the number of new Tinder matches.

In this Tinder algorithm tutorial, we are exactly going to do that and explain how the Tinder algorithm works and how you should use Tinder to be favored by the algorithm.

At the end of the article, we also have a FAQ section about the most frequently asked questions about the Tinder algorithm.

What is the Tinder algorithm? 

Tinder algorithm is basically a matching system that helps Tinder to decide which profiles are shown to you when you are swiping profiles and which profiles can see you in their swiping decks.

It is very important to figure out how the Tinder algorithm works so then you know how to use Tinder in a way that will help you to get shown to many attractive profiles and you will see the most attractive profiles in your swiping deck.

If you manage to master the Tinder algorithm, and if you have a great profile with awesome profile pictures then you can be sure that you are going match with a lot of attractive Tinder matches.

How does Tinder algorithm work in 2023?

There are two main sources where we can learn about how the Tinder’s algorithm works, Tinder’s official blog post about its algorithm and other experienced users’ observations and personal experience.

If you want to just get a quick summary, check out this quick video on the new Tinder algorithm:

Tinder Algorithm facts

The official Tinder blog post won’t really help you to understand the Tinder algo that much better as they barely share any specific information. They only share four main points but at least we can take these factors they mention for granted.

The biggest takeaways from the official Tinder algorithm blog post are the following:

• The recency of the app usage is a factor in the algorithm
• The physical proximity of users is a factor in the matching system.
• They don’t use the exact ELO score anymore. (although it doesn’t mean they don’t use a very similar measure)
• They don’t use information about the profiles’ race, hair color, religion to match profiles
• We will examine these factors in detail in the next paragraphs.

Tinder Algorithm factor #1: Recency

If you have just used the app, or actively using the profile you are more likely to be shown to other profiles and other active users are more likely to be shown to you.

This makes sense, as Tinder’s goal is to increase the number of matches and active conversations on Tinder and you are more likely to be liked by another profile and have a conversation with someone who is using the app actively than by a person who hasn’t opened it for weeks.

Secondly, if recency helps you get more visibility then you are motivated to use the app as many times as you can which also helps Tinder to show you more ads or sell its premium subscriptions more easily.

Tinder Algorithm factor #2: Proximity

The second main key factors in the Tinder algorithm that influences which profiles are being shown to you is proximity. The closer you are to a profile the more likely you will be shown to her and that she will show up in your swiping deck.

This makes sense also as Tinder doesn’t want you just to have a ton of matches and conversations that doesn’t go anywhere. (since you can’t really meet because of the distance) They also want you to meet up with people in real life and the chance of meeting up someone is higher if you are closer to each other.

One practical application of this algorithm matching factor is when you use Tinder Passport, you should pin yourself in the most crowded part of a city.

The other one is that you should also do some swiping when you are at work or school if it is far from your home as you will get a better chance of being shown to profiles in that neighborhood as well.

Tinder Algorithm factor #3: Elo score – Attractiveness of your profile

The general concept behind the Tinder Elo score is that it tells Tinder how attractive you are compared to other profiles in your neighborhood.

According to this official blog post, Tinder no longer relies on the exact Elo formula in the Tinder algorithm. However, we can be sure that they are using a similar measurement to gauge the attractiveness of your Tinder profile.

The attractiveness of your profile still counts and not just in getting more right swipes than left swipes but also in getting more profile impressions.

Therefore, if you are not happy with your daily Tinder match number, the first thing you should check if you can firther optimize your profile.

Tinder Algorithm – Non-factors

Tinder also shares what they are not using as an algorithmic factor to decide which profiles should be shown in your Tinder swiping deck.

They claim that they do not store and use in their matching algorithm any information and data related to race, skin color, hair color, religion, financial income, etc.

Tinder User Profiling and User Clusters

This should mean even if you especially like a specific type of men or women, Tinder won’t show you more of them if this affection is for example based on hair color. However, our personal experience suggests that Tinder still tries to recommend who have certain mutual physical characteristics. How is that possible when they explicitly say they do not store this type of information?

They acknowledge in another official article that they collect and store user behavior data and do profiling of users so they can put similar users to groups. This enables them to still recommend you users that you more likely find attractive.

So even though they don’t store hair or skin color of users, they can cluster profiles into groups by using some AI and machine learning algorithms on user behavior data.

They can then say that if you are part of a cluster and have similar left or right swipe patterns with your group then a profile who has been liked by your group will be also a great recommendation for you as if the majority of the profiles liked it in your group you are likely to swipe her right.

So, this exemplary group can be for example men who like blonde hair women, although Tinder doesn’t know explicitly that they are blonde women that this group of profiles likes.

Tinder algorithm factors based on experience

As you could read in Tinder’s official blog post about how their algorithm works, there is not a lot of clear information that could really help you in getting more Tinder matches. That is the reason we have written up some other speculated (but not confirmed) factors based on our personal experience and extensive research of other in-depth articles about Tinder’s algorithm.

However, as this information about the algorithm is not an official company source, you have to take all of this with a grain of salt.

Messaging your Tinder matches

Tinder doesn’t want to favor profiles whose only goal is to get as many matches as they can so they can brag about their match number but never initiate a conversation or reply to women’s messages.

If you only collect Tinder matches with whom you never start a conversation, don’t be surprised if you see that your new Tinder matches will start to go down as the algorithm will start to show you to fewer Tinder profiles.

Maybe this is a direct factor in the Tinder matching system, but it is also possible that it might be an indirect effect of the related recency factor confirmed officially by Tinder. If you have a lot of Tinder conversations, then you have to open up the app pretty frequently which helps is getting better

Being selective about swiping on Tinder

Tinder definitely doesn’t like it if you use a 3rd party app to autolike every profile you encounter during your swiping. This behavior can actually easily get your account banned or shadowbanned.

However, even doing regular swiping can be detrimental to your success on Tinder, if you like other profiles too often. Being more selective than the average user can get your Tinder profile to be shown more often for more attractive profiles.

The reason for this is that most men become quite desperate as they experience fewer new Tinder matches nowadays. Their standards decrease and they start to like profiles that are average or below average on the attractiveness scale. This behavior signals the Tinder algorithm that they are fine with the not so attractive profiles so they will get more of those profiles in their swiping deck.

So the basic advice here is to only swipe right when you are sure you would want to chat and then meet up with the profile you see. Applying the mindset: “I can’t lose anything by swiping right” is actually false and will result in fewer matches and the Tinder algorithm not showing you to many other attractive profiles.

This video on Tinder algorithm sums up this pickiness concept pretty well:

How to manipulate the Tinder algorithm?

Even if your profile is not favored by the Tinder algorithm there are still ways to increase the visibility of your profile for a shorter time period with free and paid features.

However, don’t forget the fundamentals of Tinder which will never change. If you have a profile with attractive photos this will influence 90% of your success on Tinder in terms of getting a ton of matches.

Besides always trying to improve your profile and follow the advice we have outlined above there are some hacks that you can try to use to influence the Tinder algorithm in your favor.

Most of these are paid, but their relative prices are still low if you consider that by using them you can in some cases 10X your number of matches in a short period of time.

Tinder algorithm Hack #1: Tinder Passport

Based on personal experience, when you are using Tinder Passport, you are getting a natural Boost for your profile in the new place you changed your location to.

It is suggested to use the Passport function (available only for Tinder premium subscribers) when you will travel to a new place to get a natural boost before you would actually go there and set up some dates in advance.

As proximity is an important factor in the Tinder algorithm increasing your chances it is recommended to pin your new location in the most crowded part of the city in order to maximize your chances of matching.

Tinder algorithm Hack #2: Swipe Surge

A relatively new feature is Tinder Swipe Surge that is a short time period when Tinder is experiencing outstanding user activity in your neighborhood.

By joining the Swipe Surge (Tinder sends a notification about it), you will get a free natural Boost from it and you will also see other profiles who are participating in the Swipe Surge and are currently active on Tinder.

Tinder algorithm Hack #3: Tinder Boost and Tinder Super Boost

The easiest way to be favored by the algorithm is to activate a Tinder Boost or Super Boost by tapping on the purple lightning bolt on your Discovery screen.

According to Tinder, a regular Boost will 10X, a Super Boost will 100X your visibility that will surely pump up your number of new matches.

As Tinder Boost is the easiest way to hack the algorithm it is not a surprise that both of them are paid features. Although you get one per month for free if you have a Plus or Gold subscription.

Tinder algorithm Hack #4: Tinder Reset

The ultimate hack to fool the Tinder algorithm and get a natural boost from Tinder without paying anything for it is to reset your Tinder account. 

Unfortunately, it is not as easy to delete your Tinder account a start a new one right after it. If you do it without any preparation, in less than 3 months after you deleted your old Tinder account, your account will likely get banned or shadowbanned.

We have a comprehensive blog post where we explain how to properly delete and restart your account to be able to do a Tinder reset. You can also check out this quick video that gives you an idea of how this process works:

If you are interested in other Tinder hacks that can get you more successful on Tinder without too much effort and time, definitely check out our article here about Tinder hacks.

Tinder algorithm and final advice

To sum it up, here are the most important tips and pieces of advice to use on Tinder so that your profile will be favored by the Tinder algorithm:

• Use the app at least 3-4 times of the day as recency matters
• Use Tinder in places where there are a lot of profiles very close to you as proximity is also key in the algorithm
• Always try to improve your profile to have a better attractiveness score
• Don’t always swipe right, be as selective with your swiping as you can
• When you match someone, message your match in less than 24 hours after the match happened. 

And don’t forget, Tinder’s main goal is that you spend as much time as you can in the app. Using the power of the matching algorithm they will reward users with higher visibility who spend a lot of time on the app.

We would speculate that the more time you spend actively on Tinder, the higher the chance you will buy a premium feature or a subscription. That is why Tinder wants to encourage you to be a Tinder addict.

Frequently Asked Questions