How to Delete Tinder Permanently
Had a few bad dates? Don’t want your girlfriend to cringe or make fun of you if she finds your old profile? Trying to play it cool for a boyfriend you met in the real world? Maybe you’re getting ready to marry your former Tinder match, and neither of you needs your accounts anymore. There are tons of reasons why someone would want to permanently delete their presence from the online dating world.
What Does Tinder Know About Me?
Tinder collects a surprising amount of information for a dating app. Some if it is outright baffling. Like many free apps, they’re trying to collect as much info as possible. It doesn’t necessarily matter if you’re using Tinder plus or Tinder free, they’re still nosy and helping themselves to your information.
Before you permanently delete your Tinder, visit https://account.gotinder.com/data and log in. Give them an email address to send the data to, and watch your inbox. They’ll compile all of your data and send it to you via an email link that is viewable for 24 hours. Go through what they send you – you may be completely creeped out by what they know and store. If you didn’t want to permanently delete your Tinder before, you might feel differently after you view that dossier. Dating apps can be creepy with your data.
How to Delete Your Tinder Account
To delete Tinder, open the app. You cannot delete Tinder simply by removing the app from your phone. If you’ve already uninstalled it, reinstall it. Tap the profile icon, tap settings, and then tap “delete my account at the very bottom of the options. Tap “delete my account” again, and confirm.
If you’re paying for Tinder Plus or Tinder Gold, make sure you cancel that first. They still might be able to charge you, even if you aren’t currently using a Tinder account. Automatic deductions will still come out if your subscription is associated with your Google Play ID or your Apple ID. Tinder should technically cancel credit card subscriptions upon deletion of your account, but it’s not worth taking any chances. Remove your payment info first.
Tinder will also give you the option to “pause” your account, which is the same as deactivating your account temporarily. They’re still going to store everything if you opt to pause your account, and things will resume as normal when you reactivate it. Pausing the account is nowhere near the same as permanently deleting it – make sure you definitely select delete.
What Happens to Your Info After You Permanently Delete Your Tinder Account?
When you delete your Tinder account, you’re deleting your profile, matches, messages, photos, and everything else associated with that account. But you’re deleting it much later than you think you are. Tinder has a sneaky privacy policy that allows them to retain your data for a full 90 days before they actually have to get rid of it – even after you’ve opted to permanently delete your Tinder account. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do about that. They’re allowed to hold it for that long and you’ve already given them permission to do so by signing up. Most dating apps and dating services utilize the exact same method of data collection and storage. Unfortunately, there’s no truly private way to pursue online dating. Maybe you’re better off going back to meeting people the old fashioned way – that’s the only way you can truly control the amount of information being exchanged and retained.
