How to Use Tinder: Your Walkthrough to Find Love or a Fling Thing

It seems like everyone uses Tinder these days, but maybe you’re someone who has yet to try it. So, here are some tips for how to use Tinder.

Just a little bit of humor here – there used to be a day when people actually placed “personal ads” in newspapers to get a date. I know, I know… that was the Stone Age. I mean, 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.

How to use Tinder – The mechanics and walkthrough you need

I know people who 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 that a simple swipe right!” I would recommend using them sparingly, however.

#3 Unmatch. I didn’t know you could unmatch people at first. But, ah ha! 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 I think is 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. I think 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 of the 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. I mean, hey, 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 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.

[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!

The post How to Use Tinder: Your Walkthrough to Find Love or a Fling Thing is the original content of LovePanky - Your Guide to Better Love and Relationships.