Did you do something wrong on Tinder and get yourself shadowbanned? Read on to learn about how to get the shadowban lifted.
Tinder is a dating app that allows users to find matches based on their location. It is one of the most popular dating apps in the world, with over 50 million users on Tinder Plus and over 1.5 billion swipes per day.
Some Tinder users like to play around with different photos and bios until they get shadowbanned or banned permanently by the app's management. However, some get shadowbanned for false reports! They're not doing anything wrong, but suddenly cannot make new matches, zero messages, and likes! Either way, read on how to get you unshadowbanned.
What is Tinder Shadowban?
A Tinder shadowban is a form of punishment given by the Tinder platform to users who violate its rules without being explicitly notified or warned of such violation. If you have been shadowbanned on Tinder, you might not know unless someone else tells you because other users may not be seeing your profile.
It’s not an error on Tinder’s part; it’s actually a way for them to keep spammers and other users who break their terms of service out of the platform without having to ban them outright.
How to Test If Your Tinder is Shadowbanned?
Tinder has been shadowbanning accounts on a massive scale. The reason behind this is that they want to reduce the number of fake profiles that are being created on their platform. They believe that they can do this by making it harder for these types of profiles to be found by other users on the app.
So, how do you know if your account has been affected?
- If You Get Reduced to Almost No Matches At All
Tinder's algorithm shows users the most relevant people and their profiles. The best way to do this is by showing people a small number of profiles and making them swipe right or left based on their own preferences. If you're getting few matches, it means that Tinder has found you the culprit of some community violations and probably shadowbanned you.
- You Receive No Message Responses
If initially, you had ongoing conversations with several people on the platform, but now it's like there's no one texting you, even when you try texting them, then that could be it. You may have got yourself shadowbanned.
- Zero to Almost No Profiles Are Being Shown to You
Tinder's algorithm is also designed to show users a specific number of profiles per day. But when scrolling through profiles and finding that you complete them all within a shorter time than before, then the platform may have shadowbanned you.
Does Tinder Shadowban Go Away?
Unfortunately, there is no way to know how long your account will be banned. The Tinder Shadowban lasts forever unless you delete your account or open a new one.
If you have been shadowbanned on the platform, your profile and account have been flagged as suspicious. However, you can still swipe left and right on the platform, but the count will be very low. At the same time, your profile won't be visible on search results. So, if anything, it will be better to delete your account in the long run.
How to Get Unshadowbanned on Tinder?
Have you proved you are shadowbanned and are still trying to figure out what you might have done wrong? Here is your best way to get yourself unshadowbanned from the platform:
You'll need to reset your account in the shortest time possible in 10 minutes, without costing you anything:
Here's how you'll do this;
Delete the Shadowbanned Account
You need to delete the old account first from your phone. Go to Settings and then tap on the [Delete Account] option. Here, tap on the [Delete my account] option again, then touch the [I want a fresh start] button.
Uninstall Tinder App from Your Phone
If you're using an Android phone, then uninstall Tinder from your phone entirely, so it will stop working until it's reinstalled. If you're using an iPhone, then simply turn off Wi-Fi temporarily until the account is deleted later. If you don't do this, then Tinder will keep tracking your IP address.
Factory Reset Your Phone
This can be done by doing a factory reset on your phone and then registering your Google Play store or App Store with a new ID and password. This will make it so that Tinder cannot track your IP address, so they cannot determine that you are currently using another account. If you do this, however, make sure that you don’t link your previous email or credit card; otherwise,, they’ll also ban the new account.
Buy a New Simcard
Register with the phone number on that SIM card. This will ensure that when you log in, you won't be shadowbanned or tracked by IP address. If you don't want to pay for another SIM card, you can use a friend's.
Restart Your Wi-fi Router
You can try restarting your wifi router to change your IP address into a new one that isn't associated with any banned accounts. This way, when you log back into Tinder again, the company won't know who you are and won't be able to ban you again for having too many matches or using another account.
The best thing to do is unplug the router for about 5 minutes, then plug it in. You can then:
- Create a new Google or Apple account
- Reinstall Tinder
- Create a new account
However, you must remember that the new account should not have any email or credit card linked to the previous account.
What to Avoid with Your New Tinder Account?
When you create a new Tinder account, you want to ensure you don't do anything that might get you shadowbanned again.
Here is what you can do:
- Avoid using similar photos to what was in the shadow banned account
Your photos are one of the most important things when creating an account on any social networking platform. Unfortunately, if you use photos from your previous account, there is a high chance that you will get banned again because they already exist in their database under another name. If this happens, then all your efforts will go down the drain, and you'll have no choice but to start over again from scratch!
- Do not sign into your old Facebook account that you used in the previous Tinder Account
Ensure that you do not sign into your old Facebook account. If you do, it will be flagged, and you will get shadowbanned again.
- Do not connect your Old Social media accounts (Instagram, Snapchat, Spotify)
If you use other social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, or Spotify, don't connect them to your Tinder account. If they are linked, the app will automatically post your new matches on these accounts, which could give away your location and identity.
Why is Your Tinder Account Being Shadowbanned?
Tinder employs an algorithm that determines which profiles violate its community rules. Some of these things that can get you flagged without your knowledge include:
- Violation of Tinder Community Guidelines
You can get banned if other users report you for violating the community guidelines. For example, using bots to swipe right on your behalf, sending inappropriate or offensive messages to other users, and posting fake profiles are some common violations that you need to avoid at all costs.
- Swiping Right Uncontrollably
Tinder limits how many profiles you can swipe right on per hour. If you're going too fast, you may trigger an automatic ban. Try slowing down and only swiping right when it feels right to do so — don't just keep swiping right because new matches are coming in every few seconds or minutes.
- Sending Similar Messages to Multiple Users
If you're sending out identical messages to multiple users without any variations (like saying “Hey” or “Welcome”), this could trigger a ban as well. Make sure each message is uniquely crafted.
- Restarting Your Tinder Account Multiple Times
When you restart your device, it can cause problems with certain apps like Tinder and Instagram. Since these apps rely on location tracking to determine where users are located and who they should match with, if you restart too many times or move around too quickly, this can trigger an error message or even result in being banned from using the app altogether!
- Getting Reported Too Many Times
Tinder has a robust reporting system that allows users to report others for various reasons. If you are being reported too often, it can cause your account to be shadowbanned. It is important to note that being reported by someone else does not guarantee that you will be shadowbanned.
However, if multiple people are reporting you, and it seems like you are doing something wrong, then it is likely that your account will be shadowbanned. To avoid getting reported too many times, it is important to act with respect toward other users and follow the Tinder Community Guidelines.
Conclusion
You risk getting shadowbanned when you do something that Tinder or the other user doesn't like. Usually, this comes down to sending many messages too quickly or just not having a great profile. Sometimes you get banned from accumulated false reports.
But luckily, with a little know-how and careful following of the steps above, you should be able to get yourself back on Tinder in less than thirty minutes!
