For millions of people around the globe, online dating apps like Tinder have become the default method for meeting potential partners in the digital era. This phenomenon has become even more pronounced in the era of COVID-19, when many of us are navigating government lockdowns, remote work, and the closures of restaurants, bars, gyms, and other common in-person gathering spaces.
Once Tinder has served its purpose in your life—whether that’s finding a long-term romantic partner or building a social circle in a new city—you’ll need to decide how to extricate yourself from the platform. That’s right, at some point you’ll need to know how to delete your Tinder account.
While it may be tempting to just ignore the stream of notifications and stop interacting with your account, this approach can leave your personal information vulnerable to potential identity thieves and hackers.
If you’re no longer looking for love or friendship on Tinder, do yourself a favor and take a few minutes to shut down your account using the process outlined below.
Reasons to Delete Tinder
Tinder is one of the most popular dating apps in a crowded marketplace, with more than 75 million monthly users across the globe thanks to the company’s recently launched Passport feature. In fact, it’s the top-ranked app of its kind for the 18-to-34-year-old demographic.
These statistics are a net benefit when you’re actively using the platform since it translates to a wider pool of options for finding a match.
Once you’re no longer searching for that special someone, however, it means your name, photo and other demographic information are still being exposed to thousands of users on a daily basis.
Simply deleting the app from your mobile phone or another device may stop you from being bothered by constant notifications, but it does absolutely nothing to secure your private data.
How to Delete Your Tinder Account
Once you’ve decided to break up with Tinder, you essentially have two options for severing your ties: one temporary, one permanent. The former will keep your account active for future use while preventing other users from discovering your profile; the latter will take you off the platform completely.
Temporarily Inactivating Your Tinder Account
If you’re not entirely sure that you’re finished with online dating, you can temporarily pause your Tinder account, leaving yourself open to the possibility of reactivating it in the future. While your account is frozen, your profile won’t appear in the app’s Discovery section, preventing new potential matches from making a connection with you.
To inactivate your account:
- Open the Tinder app and tap your profile icon, located in the left upper screen on iOS devices and the lower right side on Android devices.
- Tap Settings and go to the Discovery section.
- Move the button next to “Show me on Tinder” to the Off position.
- This process will keep you from getting messages from new matches, but your profile will still be accessible to prior matches.
- You can take inactivation a step further by going to Settings, clicking Delete Account and then selecting Pause My Account.
Permanently Deleting Your Tinder Account
Permanently deleting your Tinder account means you’ll no longer be able to send or receive messages within the app, and all matches, conversations and other data will be erased. Once you’re ready to make the leap, follow these steps:
- Open the Tinder app and tap your profile icon and then Settings.
- At the bottom of the screen, tap the Delete Account link.
- On the following screen, tap Delete My Account (unless you’re having second thoughts, in which case you can choose the link for Pause My Account).
- You’ll be asked to confirm your request to delete your account, as well as the reason for deletion, which is an optional field.
At this point, your account has been deleted, but if you’re a premium member of Tinder, you’ll still need to cancel your paid subscription. This can typically be done via your Apple ID or the Google Play Store—wherever your paid app subscriptions are usually managed.
Final Thoughts on Deleting Tinder and Online Security
If improving your digital hygiene is one of your goals for 2022, deleting dating apps like Tinder can be a good place to start. The most important thing to remember is that merely deleting the mobile app will not inactivate your account or remove your personal information from the platform.
You’ll need to follow the steps above in order to ensure that your name, photo and other details are no longer accessible to users of the app, as well as cybercriminals who may want to capture your data for nefarious purposes.
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Looking for more information on deleting accounts beyond how to delete your Tinder account? We have guides for Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit, as well as an overall social media cleanse guide.