When you begin to use Tinder, or even just log back in for the first time in a few months, it can sometimes feel like you’ve been presented with the controls of a small spacecraft that you’re expected to pilot.
The app is dense with features, with more being added all the time, and so you’re often left wondering: What does the green dot mean?
Or, what exactly is ‘SC’? And how do you engage the thrusters to escape the pull of the earth’s atmosphere? Alright, sorry, you don’t actually have to pilot a small spacecraft.
Well, here at Dude Hack, we consider ourselves Tinder translators, whether that’s our comprehensive guide to how to use the app, or answering those questions that come up time and time again.
And one of the most frequently asked, and newest questions I keep getting is ‘What does the yellow heart on Tinder mean?’
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What Is the Reason For The Yellow Heart On Tinder?
There are a couple of places the yellow heart appears, and a few reasons for it to do so. All of them have to do with Tinder’s premium option, Tinder Gold. The reasons are as follows:
- A Tinder Gold User Swiped Right On You
The yellow heart, also referred to as the gold heart depending on your phone screen’s quality, will appear either by someone’s name and age on their profile. This indicates both that the person has swiped right on your profile, and that they are a subscriber to Tinder Gold or Platinum.
- The Logo For Likes You
People may refer to ‘the gold heart’ when talking about the logo for ‘Likes You’, which is that same heart with three lines. This appears when the service is referenced throughout the app, and in Tinder’s advertising.
You’ll find ‘Likes You’ in your ‘New Matches’ list, at the top left of the screen. The little gold heart appears just over the number of likes you have.
If you click through, you’ll get to a feed full of users who have already swiped right. If you don’t have Gold or Platinum, though, all their pictures will be blurred to obscure their identities.
- You Liked Someone Through Likes You
Finally, the little gold heart symbol on Tinder will also show up on your match’s profile and next to their name in messages if you have Tinder gold and like them through the ‘likes you’ screen.
It doesn’t show up if you like someone through the normal feed, even if they happened to like you too. Unless, of course, they have Tinder Gold too.
Confusing? Maybe a little, but blame Mr. Tinder.
Why Do Yellow Hearts Appear On Tinder?
You now know what that little yellow heart with three lines is meant to mean, but why are they showing you it in the first place? What do they think they’re going to achieve?
Yes, it’s lovely to know that someone has given you the swipe of approval, but the fact that you’re being liked by people who are paying for Tinder means something.
The logic of showing you the yellow heart is as follows: Because someone subscribes to Tinder Gold, you can be confident that they are serious about dating.
Likewise, if they already swiped right on you and appeared in your ‘Likes You’ feed, they’re serious about dating you. Or at least having a chat.
Many free apps, including Tinder, are thought of (wrongly) as being exclusively for hookups, but by offering the chance to differentiate who is really committing to finding someone Tinder allows you (via the power of the gold heart) to more easily work out who may be more serious about a potential relationship.
Of course, some people are committed to finding hookups, but what you are looking for is probably something you should discuss with matches anyway. At least if they have a yellow heart, you know they are probably active and engaged on Tinder.
So, when you see that yellow/gold heart, just know that behind that profile is a person using every tool Tinder has, and they’ve given you that right swipe. Will you swipe back?
How Much Is Tinder Gold?
The yellow heart on Tinder is clearly connected to Tinder Gold. So, what is it?
Tinder Gold is one of the app’s subscription services, alongside Tinder Plus and Platinum.
Tinder Gold and Platinum costs vary based on your location, age, and time of reading this. As a rough guide, one month of Tinder Gold will set you back around $22.49 per month, whereas Tinder Platinum at the time of writing this in the US was around $29.99.
Tinder Gold unlocks nearly all of the app’s premium features including:
- Unlimited Likes
- Unlimited Rewinds
- 5 Super Likes a Week
- See Who’s Liked You
- 1 Free Boost a Month
- Passport to Any Location
- Hide Ads
- More Top Picks
- Control Your Profile
- Control Who Sees You
- Control Who You See
Platinum additionally unlocks:
- Message before matching
- Prioritized likes
Tinder Symbols Meaning 2023
Have a handle on the gold heart? Well here are a few more of Tinder’s mysterious symbols for you to try and get your head around.
The most frequently asked-about Tinder symbols mean:
The Green Heart: It’s more or less the like button. When searching for matches on the discovery screen, tap it to like whatever profile you see.
The Red X: The opposite of the green heart. A big fat no to whatever profile you’re looking at.
The Blue Star: A super like. You’ll find it on the discovery page, near that green heart. Tap it to give whoever you’re looking at a like, but one that they’ll see before they even swipe you. Get a super like yourself and you’ll find it in your list of matches, right next to the name of that particular match.
The Purple Lightning Bolt: This one’s a premium feature. The purple lighting bold is the icon for Tinder Boost and Super Boost. By tapping this your profile will be boosted close to the top of the list of profiles in your area for either half an hour or three hours, giving you more views and the potential for a lot more matches.
Rewind: Again, another premium feature, but an incredibly useful one. We’ve all swiped too fast once or twice, and lost who might have been a perfect match to the left-swipe graveyard. Well, by clicking the rewind button on your discovery screen, you can take back whatever your last action was whether that’s a like, a dislike, or even a super like. They’re unlimited if you fork out for Tinder Plus, Gold or Platinum!
The Blue Shield: Finally, this one can come in handy should you be unlucky enough to encounter someone a little more creepy on Tinder. Tap through to their profile and you’ll see this blue icon. By selecting it, you’ll be able either to report or unmatch with whoever is giving you hassle.
Final Thoughts
So, I hope that goes some way to translating some of the language of love (or, Tinder, to be specific). It can be confusing
However, perhaps your (yellow) heart hasn’t found what it’s looking for on Tinder. If you’re not liking back the people that have liked you, perhaps it’s time to take Dude Hack’s free dating app quiz and find a new place to do your swiping and find yourself a solid gold match.
