Last updated on 2019-10-15

Why would you want to reset (delete and recreate) your Tinder account?

Maybe you’ve thought of a vastly improved bio…

Maybe you followed our guide and took some better pictures of yourself…

Maybe you believe your account is malfunctioning, or you’ve been shadowbanned…

Maybe you’ve run out of people to swipe on in your area…

…and you want to try again. Recreating your account gives you another shot with the people who previously swiped left on you, and if you’re using a different main picture, chances are 99.9% of them won’t remember seeing you before. Also, you get about a day’s worth of NoobBoost while Tinder sets your type and score.

So much for the pros of resetting. Unfortunately, it seems Tinder has been cracking down on users resetting recently. Previously, the app remembered your account by your Facebook details or phone number, but that seemed to be just a by-function of logging you in, rather than actively trying to hinder your reset attempts. Since version 9.0.0 however, things have changed.

Whereas resetting used to be a matter of 5 minutes, and success was all but guaranteed (at least following this guide), it has now become much more of a hassle and you risk getting shadow-banned by Tinder. While it is definitely still possible to enjoy the benefits of resetting (with some caveats), you may want to think carefully about whether it’s worth the risk and effort, and if the timing is right.

When should you consider resetting your Tinder account?

In light of the above, I have prepared some points to consider before you follow the guide below to reset your account. Of course, you will know best when the time has come to kiss your old Tinder persona goodbye, but in my opinion you should only reset if:

“There is no one new in your area”. This one is quite indisputably a good reason to restart your Tinder journey. Whether you’ve actually run out of people, or you’ve been shadow-banned by Tinder, the fact of the matter is that you cannot go on without either moving to another town or resetting your account.

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This one is quite indisputably a good reason to restart your Tinder journey. Whether you’ve actually run out of people, or you’ve been shadow-banned by Tinder, the fact of the matter is that you cannot go on without either moving to another town or resetting your account.  You have overhauled your profile with vastly improved pictures and/or a new bio, and you are not seeing your match rate pick up. If you are so far down the algorithm‘s pit of shame that it would take you weeks to crawl out and be seen by the surface dwellers again, resetting might be worth it. Otherwise, I’d recommend waiting a few days to weeks first to see if things pick up thanks to your improvements.

There may be other good reasons, and the choice is yours. Just keep in mind:

You can only use each phone number once [Within three months of deleting your old account]. Think about how many numbers you have access to before you have to invest in a burner number. Free online phone numbers don’t work. While Services like Google Voice seem to work fine for some users, beware of online burner numbers as you may not be the first to use them on Tinder, and you may lose access in the future. If you wait three months between deleting and recreating your account, you can use the same information again. (As per Tinder’s privacy policy)

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Think about how many numbers you have access to before you have to invest in a burner number. Your Tinder Plus/Gold Subscription will be lost. You may still “restore your purchase” from the options to continue using your subscription until it runs out, but this now lets Tinder remember your account. You need to use a new Google/Apple account. Don’t renew your subscription if you plan to reset soon.

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You may still “restore your purchase” from the options to continue using your subscription until it runs out, but this now lets Tinder remember your account. You need to use a new Google/Apple account. You may not use your “real” Facebook account (again). This is not new, but worth mentioning, as you will not see if you share any “friends” with your potential match.

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(again). This is not new, but worth mentioning, as you will not see if you share any “friends” with your potential match.  You may not link your Instagram or Spotify accounts (again).

Do you still feel the time is right to reset? Read on for the reset guide and further tips.

Proper procedures, to ensure Tinder doesn’t remember you from your last round

Thanks to being able to view the data Tinder has collected on you, we now know a bit more about what data they do and do not store about us, at least officially. That gives us some clues as to what we need to change for a successful reset. At the same time, not all data they store must necessarily be used to remember your previous account. For example: they store IP addresses, yet they only remembered an old account of mine after I reused the same phone number, but did not remember all the accounts made on the same device with the same wifi connection (of course, I don’t have a static IP).

The first option detailed below contains all the feasible precautionary measures necessary to reset your account. Yet be advised: The attempt may still fail.

Option 1: A Simple 8-13 Step Procedure to Reset Your Tinder Account

You may skip steps which do not apply to you, i.e. steps regarding Facebook logins or former premium subscribers.

In Tinder’s Settings page, select “Delete Account” and confirm.

Tip: If you don’t see a “Delete Account” button, you can – Uninstall and reinstall the app. This has brought back the button for many users.

Delete your account from the web-interface at account.gotinder.com

 Uninstall the Tinder App.

 Go to your relevant Facebook Account’s Apps page, and remove (unlink) Tinder. Only applies if the account was created through a Facebook login.

 Log out of Facebook and create a new Facebook account, using a new throwaway E-Mail address. See below for some tips concerning this step. Only applies if a former account was- and the new account should be created through a Facebook login.

 Optional: Hand pick 100 likes you’d be happy about sharing with a match. Keep in mind some interests, especially activities such as “watching TV” or “driving” are not imported by Tinder.Tip: If you do this often, it pays to have an “original” Facebook account with those 100 likes selected. You can then look at that account while logged in with your new one, and just like everything “old you” liked. Should take about 3 minutes this way. Only applies if the account was created through a Facebook login.

 Use a new Google Play account, or Apple ID. If you need help with creating a new Google account, I’ve got you covered below. (It’s not exactly an intuitive procedure). Only applies if there was a premium subscription attached to a former account.

 Reinstall Tinder.

 Make sure you’re logged into your new Tinder-Facebook account on your phone, or if you don’t use Facebook’s app, remember your new login details. Only applies if the account was created through a Facebook login. 

 Remove the EXIF metadata from any pictures you plan to upload to your profile. See here to learn what EXIF metadata is, and how to remove it.

 Reset or reconfigure your router to get a new IP address, or if on a static IP (e.g. in a university dorm), switch to a different network (if necessary by physically relocating). Here’s a guide on how to change your IP address.

 Open Tinder and create an account.

 Use a new phone number to sign up. This must be a number that a) you have never used before in conjunction with Tinder and b) that you will have access to in the future, to receive SMS codes. See below for some tips concerning this step.

 Enjoy all the matches, but remember the count will drop severely again within the next few days.

Additional Precautions:

Do not reconnect a previously linked Instagram Account (Semi-supported by Tinder Data)

reconnect a previously linked (Semi-supported by Tinder Data) Do not reconnect a previously linked Spotify Account (Supported by Tinder Data)



reconnect a previously linked Do not reconnect a previously linked Snapchat Account (Unsupported by Tinder Data)



reconnect a previously linked (Unsupported by Tinder Data) Use completely new pictures for your profile (Unsupported, but recommended anyway if these new pictures are better than the old ones)

for your profile (Unsupported, but recommended anyway if these new pictures are better than the old ones) Use a new Phone to create your account (Unsupported by Tinder Data). This is the most extreme option but may actually be necessary in some cases.



So much for all the hoops we have to jump through nowadays. If you want to see how simple things used to be, have a look at the original reset guide from 2016.

If all of this doesn’t help, there may be a separate issue that has nothing to do with account resets. See below for one option to check if your reset has been successful.



If this seems too much of a hassle to go through, and I would not blame you for thinking so, there is one other option available to you:

Option 2: The Abstinence Method

According to Tinder’s own Privacy Policy, they only retain our data for three months following an account deletion. This means after this period has passed, they cannot identify you or connect your new account to any of your previous accounts. This also means you may reuse old phone numbers and social media handles.

In the App/Play store, cancel your Tinder subscription (It will run out).

 Delete your Tinder account.

 Wait ≥ 92 days. Go outside, enjoy the sun, meet people at the local pond and bond over feeding ducks with something other than bread, as that is not good for them (it doesn’t hurt them per se, but it does keep them from eating more nutritious foods and may result in malnutrition), then get married to those people and live happily ever after, Tinder but a minor footnote in your autobiography. Or… try some other dating apps in the meantime.

 Create a new account with a previously used or new phone number and don’t worry about connecting social media etc.

If this method does not work, it means Tinder aren’t adhering to their data privacy policy. So, enjoy your time out from Tinder, maybe try some different apps, and once you’re back, enjoy all the matches 🙂

Caveat: Tinder may hold on to your data longer than 3 months if you have been banned (actually banned, with a notice) before, or if there are law enforcement reasons like the FBI having taken a special interest in your love life (this passage is a bit fuzzy).

Tinder Reset Additional Info, Tips & Tricks

Checking if the Reset Was Successful

The main indicator for a successful reset is the initial noob boost that is granted to new accounts. But if those matches aren’t pouring in as expected, you may be forgiven for suspecting the reset has been unsuccessful. Before you try again though, which could be costly depending on the chosen method, there is another way to check if Tinder remembers you.

Now that we can request our data from Tinder, we can not only see what they have on us, but also how far back the entries span. So once you requested and received your personal data, go check your message, match, or swipe logs and see if there are entries older than your current account. If there are, they clearly remember your old account. If not, it would seem your reset was successful, but there is another issue with your account. In which case you may still try again, but maybe the better course of action would be to give other apps a try, assuming your profile is already the best it can be.

Switching to Your New Google Play Account

If you’re like me, you tried to find the option to delete or add a Google account within the Google Play Store settings. After all, that is where you’d switch between accounts too. Actually you have to:

Go into your device’s (Android) settings and find “Accounts & Sync”. Tap on your google account. Remove the account. (This does not delete the account, but removes it from your phone.) Go to “Add Account” at the bottom. Find & choose Google. Create a new account. If it asks you to provide a phone number for verification, use the same new number you had to make for Tinder. Switch to your new account in the Google Play Store.

Concerning Phone Numbers

You may use the number of a friend who never had a Tinder account (and doesn’t plan to), for example.

Or any number you have access to, but have never used before.

You do need to have access to the number in the future. This has changed recently, as Tinder asks for your phone number to log in now even if you chose Facebook as a login method.

As mentioned above, free online burner numbers used to receive SMS confirmations are not a good choice for Tinder.



A new SIM card is an (costly) option.

If you choose to go the phone number login route, which is now possible, you must use a new phone number to reset your account. Otherwise, Tinder will remember you.

When choosing a number, keep in mind that in this case, you will need access to the provided number in the future, as you will need to receive SMS codes to log in again, should you get logged out at some point; This will happen.

Concerning E-Mail Addresses

Whether for your new Facebook account, or when creating an account with your phone number, you will need to use a new (throwaway) E-Mail Address to sign up.

For both privacy and convenience, I recommend ProtonMail for this purpose. It’s easy, doesn’t require phone authentication, and makes for a great, free, privacy oriented mail provider in general, not just for throwaways. (No affiliation beyond being a satisfied user.)

What happens to Gold/Plus subscriptions and consumables?

Purchased boosts and superlikes perish upon deletion of your account. Using “restore purchase” after resetting will reactivate your Plus or Gold subscription, but won’t give you back your boosts and superlikes, as those count as “consumables”.

Warning: As of version 9.0.0 restoring your purchase from an existing subscription will make Tinder remember your account and recognize your, now botched, reset attempt. Do this at your own risk.

One Final Thought

Reality check: If you went through all of the above and are still not getting any matches, it may not be due to a failed reset attempt, or a bug in the app, or a shadowban, or the CIA wanting to keep you single. If you’ve done all you can to show your best self on Tinder (or Hinge, Bumble, OkCupid, et al) and nothing works, it may be better to devote your time and energy to self improvement. Focus on your health, your career, your fitness, and your existing relationships. Get to a place where you are happy and comfortable with who you are, then give online dating another shot (if you haven’t met someone through a common hobby or similar by then). There is nothing more attractive than loving yourself (not physically and in public).

I hope you found this guide helpful. Thoughts? Criticism? Praise? Something to add? Feel free to leave a comment below, or visit the SwipeHelper Subreddit. See you there 🙂

