Your bio is doing less work than your photos, but it's the deciding factor between two profiles with similar photos. Here's the template that performed best in our match-rate testing.
The structure
80-150 characters total. Three to five short lines.
- Line 1: one specific thing you do or are
- Line 2: two specific interests (concrete, not categories)
- Line 3: one thing you want (or don't want)
Example: "Architect rebuilding a 1920s house. Climbing, bad sci-fi, dad-rock playlists. Looking for someone to argue about pizza with."
That's 125 characters and tells you several specific things about the person.
What works
Specificity beats variety. "Bad sci-fi" tells me more than "movies." "1920s house" tells me more than "DIY projects."
One small disqualifier or specific want. Filters in the right people, filters out the wrong ones. "Not into bar-hopping" or "Marathon-week is not my thing" both work.
One personality signal. A small joke, a slightly unusual word choice, a confident opinion. Something that signals you're not generic.
Job mentioned naturally. Not as the lead. Mentioned in the context of something else ("design my way through" or "currently building..." reads better than "Software Engineer at...").
What doesn't work
Clichés: "Love adventure," "Foodie," "Looking for my partner in crime," "Don't take myself too seriously." Each appears in 40-60% of bios; signals nothing.
Lists of attributes: "I'm kind, smart, funny, and loyal." Reads as a profile written for a job. Show, don't tell.
Long bio walls. Anything over 200 characters loses people. Edit ruthlessly.
Apologizing for being on the app. "Hate that I'm here," "Tinder refugee," "Trying this whole online thing" — all signal hesitation, which the algorithm and humans both downweight.
Bios about your ex. Whether bitter or wistful. Nothing about your ex in your bio. Ever.
A few formulas that work
The specific-vivid: "Pediatric dentist. Bake my own bread. Have strong opinions about which Pixar film is best."
The witty-confident: "Trying to find someone who'll let me explain things they didn't ask about. Coffee snob, climbing-gym regular, soft for old dogs."
The values-forward: "Late-30s. Building a quiet life that I want to share. Bookstore-pillager, breakfast-burrito enthusiast, allergic to performative dating."
The honest-and-curious: "I'm 34, divorced, navigating dating with curiosity. Looking for someone substantial, not someone perfect."
What to leave out
- Height — let people see in photos
- Job title — unless it genuinely defines you
- Star sign — divisive, not useful
- Income — read as off-putting
- Long-distance ban — handle by filter, not bio space
- "Swipe left if..." — reads as defensive
When to update
If you're getting matches but not conversations, your bio probably needs work. If you're not getting matches at all, your photos do.
Update small — change one thing, wait two weeks. Wholesale rewrites confuse the algorithm.
The 30-second test
Ask a friend to read your bio for 30 seconds and tell you three things about you. If they can name three specific things, your bio is working. If they can only say "you like food and being outside," start over.
