So you’ve been going to the same coffee place for a while. And the cute barista has started putting a tiny heart above the i in your name when she writes it on your takeaway cup. (Of course, guys called Steve will never get to experience this pleasure. Screw you, Tim, Simon, Martin, Michael…)

Sure, you could ask for her number. But that seems kind of forward. And nobody wants to get shot down with their double shot Americano. Wouldn’t it be a lot easier if you matched on Tinder?

Or maybe you hooked up with that cute barista, things were going steady and you moved in together! But now she seems distant, and she’s always on her phone. Is she back on Tinder serving up mocha cheater lattes?

So how can you check if someone is on Tinder? There is no search function on Tinder so the only way to search Tinder is by swiping. To find a specific person on Tinder, make a profile and narrow your Discovery preferences to try and exclude everyone else.

So you set your distance to 1 mile, your age range to the same age as the person you’re looking for, and then swipe away. Eventually, you should find their profile if they’re on Tinder.

Unfortunately, without a Tinder search function, there’s no foolproof way of finding someone’s dating profile. Either you need to go to the hard labor of swiping everyone on Tinder or you need to do some old-school phone searching.

Of course, you could also just ask them: communication is healthy, after all.

If you’re ready to go Sherlock up in here, let’s dive into 10 effective ways to find out if someone has a Tinder profile.

10 Ways To Find Out If Someone Is On Tinder

There’s only one way to find out if your IRL crush is on Tinder and that’s to get swiping. But if you’re trying to catch a cheater, then there are certain lengths you can go to using their phone or personal information.

But endless snooping creates a cycle of paranoia. And even if they’re not on Tinder, what else might you discover? Will you really be able to look at them the same way when you discover all the ugly selfies deemed not fit for public consumption? Or that she’s active on Truth Social.

Are you sure you want to do this? Okay then, call me Charlie Brown because you’re going to be Snoopy.

1. “Search” Tinder: Swipe With Narrow Discovery Preferences

There’s no search bar on Tinder so the best way to find someone’s Tinder profile is to swipe until you come across it. And you can up your chances by narrowing your preferences in Discovery.

To adjust your preferences on Tinder, tap the “Profile” icon at the bottom right of the screen. Then tap the “Settings” icon at the top right corner of the screen.

Let’s say your significant other about whom you have significant doubts is in the next room. Set “Maximum Distance” to 1 mile and narrow Age Range to their exact age (say, 24 – 24). Don’t forget to toggle on “Only show people in this range”. Now return to the swipe deck.

Now, the only people coming up should be within a mile and the same age as your partner. If he or she is on Tinder, it shouldn’t be long before their Tinder profile appears.

If Tinder says “You’ve run out of people” then you can breathe a sigh of relief. There’s nobody with your partners’ age within a mile of you, so they’re probably not on Tinder.

2. Change Your Location Settings

If this is a long-distance relationship kind of deal, then narrowing your distance to a mile isn’t going to work.

Tinder searches a radius based on your phone’s GPS data, so if you want to search Tinder for a different area, you need your phone to provide Tinder with a different GPS.

You can do this through GPS spoofing and there are a ton of apps for Android and iPhone that can trick your phone into thinking it’s somewhere else.

(This is basically a hack to get some Premium Tinder features like Tinder Passport for free, so it’s handy even if you’re not trying to track down a certain someone.)

If your partner’s gone on a worryingly wild girl’s trip to Cancun, switch up your location and get searching.

3. Ask Your Swiping Friends To Look Out For Them

If you don’t want to make a Tinder account for the sake of snooping then you might need to recruit your single friends.

Tell them about your suspicions and ask them to watch out for your partner while they’re swiping. If they get through their daily swipe limit of 100 swipes then it shouldn’t be long before they find them.

If they stumble across your partner’s secret Tinder account make sure they get some screenshots.

And hey, the upshot of this strategy is that you’re not going it alone. Your best bud is going to have your back, and they can tell you straight if you’re being paranoid or if your suspicions are justified.

4. Go Through Their Phone

I don’t advocate hunting through your partner’s phone for evidence of misdeeds. It’s a breach of trust and privacy and really doesn’t lay the groundwork for a good relationship, no matter what you find.

But, this is one way to check if someone’s on Tinder. If the Tinder app is there, then yeah they probably have Tinder.

5. See If They’ve Connected Their Facebook With Tinder

This is some grade-A snooping skill. A lot of people use Facebook to sign into Tinder. If they’ve done this at any point, their Facebook account will likely be linked to Tinder.

To find out if their Facebook is linked with a Tinder profile, you need to gain access to their Facebook profile. Remember what I said about a breach of trust?

Ok, moralizing over. Once you’re in, click their profile picture then click Settings & Privacy. Click “Security and login” then “Apps and website” to see where they’re using their Facebook account to log in.

If Tinder’s on the list, they might have an active Tinder profile. But it could be a remnant from their single days, so it doesn’t confirm they’re looking for some action on the side.

6. Use a Third Party App

There are a number of third-party apps out there that claim to be able to find someone’s Tinder account. Emphasis on claim.

Social Catfish, Truthfinder, and Cheaterbuster use the personal information you have about someone to search public databases, including Tinder, for matches. Unfortunately, they aren’t free and there’s no guarantee you’ll get a hit.

But you might be surprised by how much info is out there on someone. Cheaterbuster was built to demonstrate how little online privacy we have in today’s world. So it’s kind of ironic it’s become the #1 snooping tool.

7. Search Tinder Usernames

Tinder took a step into the social network world when it began to let people choose usernames for their profiles, all with dedicated URLs attached. It also became slightly more searchable.

Setting a username is optional, but if someone has taken this step then you can find their profile by typing https://tinder.com/@cheatersname into your web browser’s search bar.

For this to work, you have to be logged into Tinder on your computer’s web browser. And then you’ll have to guess their username. Try their social media handles or email address.

8. Reverse Image Search Their Potential Profile Picture

If you haven’t found them yet then it might be time to give up. But if you want to exhaust the possibilities, we’ve got a few more options.

If you can guess which pictures they’ve uploaded to their Tinder profile, try using a Google Reverse Image Search. Drag and drop the image you want to search into the search bar and see what comes up.

You’re probably more likely to get some Google Shopping results for the shirt they’re wearing. So you might find some inspiration for their upcoming birthday (assuming they’re not on Tinder and deserve a gift, anyway).

9. Try Signing In With Their Details

This one is kind of risky because if they are on Tinder there’s a strong chance they’re going to get a notification telling them that someone is attempting to log in. Queue some frantic evidence-wiping, and you might never know the truth.

Plus, Tinder’s sign-in process is kind of vague nowadays. It logs you in with your phone number, Facebook Profile, or Google account rather than a traditional username and password combo.

But if you’re curious, you could give it a try. If Tinder prompts you to create an account when you sign in with their details, it hints that they don’t have an account already.

10. Ask Them

Honestly, this should take the top spot but if you’re really suspicious, you’d expect them to deny deny deny.

Still, in a healthy relationship, having an open conversation with your partner about your fears and suspicions is probably the way to go.

Centre the conversation around how you feel, rather than what you’re accusing the other person of. If you can avoid tempers rising and hostility taking over, then you might create the space for your partner to be honest with you.

How To Tell If Someone Has A Tinder Profile Without Making A Profile

Creating a Tinder profile to snoop on your partner’s Tinder profile is kind of a race to the bottom. Imagine one of their friends sees your profile, tells them about it and then the tables have turned.

So you might be wondering how to tell if someone has a Tinder profile without making a profile. A third-party app might be able to find their Tinder account, or you can ask friends on Tinder to look out while swiping on Tinder users.

You can’t browse Tinder without joining, so if you want to see for yourself you’ll just have to make a fake account.

If you’re wondering if your IRL coffee shop crush has a Tinder profile, I recommend you sign up and get swiping.

How To Find Someone On Tinder By Phone Number

If you want to ask someone out and you have their phone number, my #1 foolproof tip is to… text them and ask them out. No need to go hunting on Tinder.

But maybe you’re worried that it’s your partner who’s swiping away.

So you’re wondering how to find someone on Tinder by phone number. There’s no guaranteed method, but a third-party app like Cheaterbusters might be able to link a Tinder account with a phone number. You could also use the phone number to track down social media handles and then search for them through Tinder usernames.

But again, if you have their phone number then you have some way of contacting them in real life.

Why not send a text that starts with “Hey, I feel like you’ve been distant lately and it’s making me feel insecure…”

Try to avoid a paranoid rabbit hole and talk about your feelings. If the relationship is healthy, they’ll respond positively.

How Do You Know If Someone Is Active On Tinder?

If you met your partner on Tinder, then of course they used to have a Tinder profile. Maybe they just forgot to delete the thing when you two got exclusive.

So a Tinder profile isn’t exactly a smoking gun for misbehavior. Are they actually using their Tinder account?

So how do you know if someone is active on Tinder? The Tinder green dot appears next to the name of potential matches who have been online in the last 24 hours. If it says “Online Now” it means they have been online in the last two hours.

The green dot can be turned off in settings, so it’s not a surefire way to know if someone has been recently active on Tinder.

You can also check someone’s activity on Tinder by watching to see if their location changes. When you visit their profile, their distance from you will be recorded below their name. If this goes up or down, it’s refreshing when they’re using Tinder.

But you’ll only be able to check if their location changes if you’ve matched. Otherwise, you only get to see their profile once, in the Discover feed.

Wrapping Up

Even though there’s no straightforward Tinder search function, you’re not totally in the dark. With a little bit of hard graft, you should be able to find someone’s Tinder account – if it’s there. To learn every trick of the Tinder trade, check out my free Tinder Hacked book.

If all your searching is in vain, then maybe they’re just not on Tinder. Maybe it’s time to talk about your insecurities.

Meanwhile, hot barista is still hearting the ‘i’s and casting longing looks. Maybe it’s time to swipe right in real life. Try “I like my women like I like my coffee – from [insert coffee shop name here].” On second thought, maybe Tinder would be better.