How to Reset Tinder Matches (and What Actually Gives You a Fresh Start)

How to reset Tinder matches comes down to one fact: there's no reset button. You can unmatch people one at a time, or delete your account to wipe every match and message. Both are permanent. Most people searching this actually want a fresh start with better matches, and for that, refreshing your photos and settings works better than wiping anything.

Here are the three real options, what each one costs, and which to pick.

How to reset Tinder matches: your three options

Not in the way the word "reset" suggests. Tinder doesn't offer a single action that clears your match list and leaves everything else intact. What it does offer:

Option 1: Reset matches by unmatching

If your list is full of chats that went nowhere, unmatching is the cleanest way to tidy it up:

1. Open the chat.
2. Tap the three dots in the top right.
3. Tap Unmatch (in some regions you can Block at the same time).

The person disappears from your list and you disappear from theirs. Tinder doesn't notify them, though they may notice you're gone. It can't be undone, even if you tap it by accident, so don't bulk-unmatch anyone you might want to talk to later. More in Tinder unmatch.

Option 2: Take a break without losing matches

If you want a pause rather than a clean slate, turn off Discovery: profile icon, Settings, Enable Discovery, toggle off. Tinder says your profile then won't be shown to new people, but you can still view and chat with your matches. People you liked before turning it off can still match with you. Switch it back on when you're ready. See how to disable Tinder for more.

Option 3: Delete your account (the full reset)

Deleting is the only way to clear everything at once. Before you do it, know what Tinder says happens:

• Matches, messages, photos and your Verification badge are gone for good. Tinder says these can't be restored, even if you come back within 90 days.
• Purchased Super Likes, Boosts and Super Boosts are lost. Tinder says consumables can't be transferred to a new account.
• Your subscription keeps billing. Deleting the account doesn't cancel it; cancel through your app store or Tinder first.
• Tinder keeps your data for 90 days as a safety window. Coming back within that time may restore your name, age and gender in markets where the restore feature is live.
• Face Check may remember you. In regions that use it, if you sign up again within 30 days Tinder uses your stored verification data to check for duplicate accounts and verify your new photos.
• Banned accounts can't do this. Tinder says banned users can't create new accounts.

To delete: profile icon, Settings, scroll to the bottom, Delete Account. Uninstalling the app doesn't delete your account.

If you delete and come back: restoring a subscription

Tinder says a subscription can only be tied to one Tinder account at a time. If you bought it through the App Store or Google Play, you can reapply it to your new account from Settings with Restore Purchases; if you bought it on tinder.com, PayPal or by card, you use the Restore Token from your confirmation email. If Tinder says the subscription is tied to another account, that old account has to be deleted first. Consumables are the exception: Tinder says Super Likes and Boosts can't be restored or moved to a new account.

Does a Tinder reset get you more matches?

This is the real reason most people want to reset, so it deserves a straight answer. Tinder has never said that a new account gets you more matches. Some guides report a short burst of attention for new profiles; Tinder doesn't confirm it.

What Tinder does say about its algorithm points somewhere else. It favours people who are active, and it constantly refines recommendations based on Likes and Nopes and what's on profiles. That means a new account with the same photos is likely to end up roughly where the old one was, minus your matches.

If you want the benefit of a fresh start without the cost, do what a reset can't:

• Replace your first photo with a recent, well-lit, smiling photo where your face is clear.
• Cut weak photos. Four good ones beat eight mixed ones.
• Rewrite your bio with something specific a match can reply to.
• Widen your age and distance in Discovery Settings.
• Use the app regularly in the evenings, when more people are active.

Our guide on how to take pictures for Tinder shows how to get better photos with just a phone and a friend.

Reset matches vs reset Tinder

Resetting matches and resetting your whole Tinder (the algorithm, your account) overlap but aren't the same. If what you're really after is a new start with the algorithm, read how to reset Tinder. If your matches vanished on their own and you didn't do anything, that's a different problem: see why Tinder matches disappear.