So, you’ve been on Tinder for a while and not been having much luck. In fact, matches seem extremely thin on the ground and every hottie you have swiped right on hasn’t done the same. What’s going on?
You take a look at your profile, determined to think like a woman and figure out why you’re so horribly unpopular right now, and… oh, that’s weird. Tinder has your age as 68.
No wonder you haven’t been getting any matches, you look like a crazy person and who has their age range that wide?
Come to think of it, you did see a few 75-year-olds in your feed, but you thought that was just because there’s a small spike in Tinder users around the 75-year-old mark. Good for them, you thought.
But you didn’t think Tinder believed you were a silver surfer yourself! So, why on earth is your age wrong on Tinder? And how do you fix it?
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The most likely explanation is that you just have fat fingers and it’s a typo. Twenty-eight can easily become 68 if you make your Tinder profile when your palms are sweaty, you’ve had a few beers, or you’re mostly watching Netflix and only 10% of your attention is engaged in the app.
The second option is that you have your Facebook and Tinder accounts linked, and your age is wrong on Facebook. Did setting it to 60 when you made the account 8 years and years ago seem funny?
Well, it wasn’t. And who was still joining Facebook 8 years ago, anyway. For more on Tinder and Facebook, see my article on the partnership.
If you want to work out this weird Tinder age issue, read on here as I answer more questions!
How does Tinder know my age?
As I said, Tinder may well know your age from Facebook. You may well have used your Facebook account to register ages ago, and forgotten that you did so.
When you return to Tinder after time off (otherwise known as a relationship) you might wonder why Tinder knows what it knows about you.
In some non-US locations, Tinder does ask for age verification and new users have to upload a picture of their ID, but that doesn’t happen here. The thing about age on Tinder, though, is that once it’s set it can’t be changed very easily.
Of course, this is totally fine as long as you don’t do anything stupid like include a typo in your age that makes you 40 years your own senior when you’re trying to get dates. And I mean, who on Earth would do that?
How Do I Fix My Age On Tinder?
Fixing your age on Tinder is tricky. Actually, it’s impossible. Tinder customer service claims that there is no way to change your age or name.
You just have to completely delete your account and start again. Which, yes, will delete all of your matches and conversations.
Yeah, that would really suck, so maybe pause Netflix, make sure you don’t have too much Cheeto dust on your fingers when you’re typing and pay full attention when you’re signing up for Tinder! And also, proofread.
Should I Lie About My Age On Tinder?
I can’t believe you’re asking me this question. First, ask yourself why you want to lie about your age. Is it to trick people into hanging out with you or even sleeping with you? Because that’s at a minimum super gross, and at a maximum possibly a federal crime.
It’s also sad. Very, very sad. That being said, of course, people lie about their ages on Tinder. Let’s look at why. Spoiler: there is only one sort of acceptable reason to do it. I’ll let you guess which.
To be more desirable to their preferred matches
So if you’re 20 but you like to date older, more mature women. Say, thirty-year-olds who probably wouldn’t be seen dead with a college kid and would find your frameless futon and décor of bud light cans and a plastic bong a real turn-off, then you might set your age to 25.
Some users are forthright about this quite quickly when they match with a new person, which is better than the alternative, but still isn’t great.
I know every twenty-year-old thinks they are the exception to the rule and incredibly mature for their age but… well.. they can’t all be, right?
Of course, it’s worse the other way around. Never be the old dude who has set his age ten years lower than reality to be more desirable, and definitely never is the guy trying to bag 18-year-olds by setting his age to 23 when he’s way older. Beyond creepy.
They’re Underage
This one really speaks for itself! They want to use Tinder, but it’s for users who are 18+. They probably got the idea from some sketchy Tinder “guru” looking to make a quick buck.
They’re Under Cover
No, not in a cool MI5 kind of way with pens that shoot poison darts and leggy Russian spies trying to seduce them at every turn. They’re undercover as in trying to avoid being caught by their spouse.
If you suspect that your partner is on Tinder when that’s not something that’s agreed upon in your relationship, then you may very well log in to your old account or even create a new account and set your preferences to fit them.
So, if they’re 27, you might set the age range from 26-28, and your radius to a mile. But if they’ve set their age to 25 or 29 instead of 27, then they won’t show up, and you’ll feel like an absolute psychopath for going to all that trouble to try and catch them and they’ll feel really smart for not getting caught.
But you know what they are? They’re not smart. They’re an asshole.
They Want Premium To Be Cheap
This one is weird. Tinder’s premium subscriptions are $10 a month more for anyone thirty and over! Apparently, this is because under the 30s are less able to pay the full fee.
But I’m thirty or over, and no one started giving me an extra ten bucks a month as soon as I turned the big three-oh. Is there a form I need to fill out or something?!
