It’s not always obvious when you’ve been banned from Tinder. In addition to having normal bans, Tinder absolutely uses the more underhanded practice of shadow banning – a shadow-banned user isn’t even notified that he is barred from using the app, but is quietly made invisible to any other user. Most of these bans happen without human intervention, making them particularly frustrating.
Here’s how to figure out if you’ve been shadow banned from Tinder, or other dating apps like it.
Zero Matches Syndrome
Did you suddenly become ugly to everyone on Tinder? Maybe! Or maybe not. A sudden drop to zero matches can be jarring, especially if you were previously getting matches regularly. This drastic change is often a clear sign of a shadow ban. The app's algorithm might have been set to minimize or completely remove your profile from the pool, making you invisible to other users.
To test this, try to match with the least attractive people you come across. If none of these, uh, “less popular” profiles aren’t matching with you, there’s a good chance that you’re shadow banned.
Silent Matches
If your existing matches are no longer responding to your messages, it could mean they're not seeing your messages at all. This communication blackout is a common tactic in shadow banning, where your activity appears normal on your end, but in reality, your messages are not being delivered.
Inaccessible Matches
One of the first signs of a shadow ban on Tinder is the sudden inability to view the profiles of your matches. If clicking on your matches' profiles leads nowhere or results in an error, it might indicate that you're shadowbanned. This restriction is a subtle way the app limits your interaction without an outright ban, making it confusing for users to understand what's happening.
Infinite Likes
If you have a free Tinder account, then you only have a limited number of likes per day – about 25 to 50 in 2024. If you haven’t paid for a subscription and there isn’t any limit to how many profiles you can swipe right on, you’re likely in the shadow-ban zone.
Repetitive Match Pool
Seeing the same profiles over and over again, despite having swiped on them, is a frustrating experience that may indicate a shadow ban. This repetitive cycle means your account isn't refreshing with new profiles as it should, possibly because your account's visibility to others has been limited, keeping you in a sort of limbo with a static pool of matches.
Payment Issues
Experiencing issues with making payments on Tinder can be another indicator. If your cards are consistently refused or if you manage to make an in-app purchase only to have your money refunded and the purchase revoked, the app might be subtly signaling a shadow ban. These payment anomalies, especially when they deviate from previous successful transactions, point towards an intentional restriction of your account.
The subtle nature of shadow bans makes them difficult to pinpoint, but being aware of these changes in your app experience can help you identify when you've been shadowbanned. But recognizing the ban is only the first step to addressing them.
So, did it turn out that you are, in fact, shadow banned from Tinder, but you still want to find the love of your life? Don’t sweat it. Follow our guide to ban evading on Tinder.