What is Tinder Shadowban & Quickest Fix for Troublesome!

You’re using the most popular dating app, Tinder, obviously!

Everything’s going great until you’re getting a few matches, no one is replying to your messages, and you’re feeling like the last Tinder user left.

You’re absolutely not alone, because a lot of people have been complaining about the exact same things, and had no idea what signs they could be.

Are you shadowbanned? If yes, what is even a shadowban?

What’s a Tinder shadowban and how do you tell you’re shadowbanned?

A Tinder shadowban is a light form of a ban on Tinder. You’re banned but you don’t know it.

This is Tinder penalizing you for doing something wrong (i.e. breaking the Tinder community guidelines) without you knowing you’re being penalized.

Your profile becomes almost invisible, and it’ll take you some time until you realize something’s actually wrong.

The official Tinder doesn’t talk about it. However, we all know…

You’re shadowbanned on Tinder if you experience passiveness on the app: not getting matches, not getting likes, or even not having enough profiles to swipe through…

Here’s how you can specifically tell if you’re shadowbanned on Tinder:

• You get no matches and almos no profiles are shown to you. That’s because your profile isn't being shown to people. You’re invisible.
  Note: If you’re new, Tinder gives you a kind of a boost. However, after a while, you won’t get as many matches, or people to swipe. This is not a shadowban.
• You get no messages back. Your matches might not be receiving your texts, or your profile disappeared from their match list entirely.
• You’ve been receiving the “Oops! Something went wrong.” very often. This is what gives you that little ‘glitchy’ feeling of the app.

Do not confuse it with error codes such as error code 5000, or others. Pay attention to the text. 

• You [Tinder Gold subscribers] get zero (or a few of the fewest) likes. You can’t get likes if you’re not seen by people.
• You can’t delete your account. It can seem like a glitch when you try to deactivate your account, and no matter how hard you try, you’ll end up having your profile active.
• You got a warning from Tinder. It usually looks like this:

Testing it out to know if you’re shadowbanned on Tinder!

• Text your matches. If they don’t reply you’ll know there’s something fishy.
• Swipe right on people. If you’ve got matches before, but now it’s zero matches, you might’ve gotten shadowbanned.
• Ask a friend to see if they stumbled upon your profile.
• Try changing your pictures or name. If you experience difficulties, then it’s likely that you’re shadowbanned.
• Don’t use the app for a few days, get back on the app and see if there are any people on your swiping feed.

How long does a Tinder Shadowban last?

There has been word spread around about the Tinder 3-month rule.

It is based on the fact that Tinder clears up your data from their system after 3 months of account deletion.

I've seen people waiting for 3 months because of this:

“… we implement a safety retention window of three months following account deletion. During this period, account information will be retained although the account will of course not be visible on the services anymore.”

However, the rest of the experts on this case don't seem to catch up on a specific detail. This is about an account deletion on Tinder. This means that waiting for three months doesn't work unless you delete your current Tinder account.

In conclusion, a Tinder Shadowban lasts until you completely delete your account.

The catch is that when shadowbanned, you'll face difficulties regarding the deletion of your Tinder account or other technical stuff.

If you rely on this 3-month rule, then you have to manage to delete your Tinder account first!

How to remove Tinder Shadowban?

Tinder Shadowban doesn’t just go away. I’ve tried, I’ve been there.

Waiting for three months thinking that Tinder will delete your data and won’t remember you aren’t going to work.

1. Talk to Tinder about it: make a Tinder Shadowban appeal.

I’ve tried this one, it didn’t work that well for me, however, a lot of people have been saying it worked well for them.

It won’t cost you anything, hence it’s worth giving it a shot before you entirely delete your Tinder account.

There are two options when it comes to getting rid of a Tinder Shadowban by reaching out to Tinder.

– Reach out to Tinder support by email at help@gotinder.com or questions@gotinder.com.

This is where you do not mention anything about Tinder Shadowban.

Write your email in a way that flows respectfully and it clearly describes the issues you’re experiencing on the app.

You can let them know, politely, how you can’t seem to get any likes, how your matches don’t seem to be getting your messages, etc.

You also want to write down your details such as name, phone number, and/or email.

– Submit a request through Tinder's support system.

Once you’re at Tinder’s support system page, it’s time to select the issues you want to submit a request about.

• You can select ‘A Tinder feature isn’t working’ which will give you the option to fill in your information and describe your issues.
• You can select ‘Trouble with account login’ and then ‘I can’t delete my account’ if you’re planning to delete your account.

The safest bet is deleting your account since you cannot get rid of a Tinder Shadowban easily.

You want to wait for a couple of days, and if nothing works out, then we’ve got to do this the raw way!

2. Create a new Tinder account with another phone number.

The second effective way to go about a Tinder Shadowban is to create an entirely new account.

Same with Tinder bans, Tinder will shadow ban your entire device. Tinder Shadowban will recognize your phone number, photos, and email as well.

Hence we need to add more emphasis on ‘new phone’.

A new phone number, be it a burner number or SIM card is crucial to this process.

A specifically designed phone number for this case would be ideal!

However, there are other things you’ve got to consider, hence here are all the steps each explained on how to fix a Tinder Shadowban:

– Disconnect Tinder from Facebook or Instagram.

Facebook > Settings > Apps and Websites> Tinder > Remove App.

Instagram > Settings and privacy > Account > Sharing to Other Apps > Tinder > Unlink.

This is a crucial step because once you open your new account, Tinder will reckon it’s you from your linked social media.

– Unsubscribe from Tinder’s premium features: Manage Payment Account > Cancel Subscription.

You want to disconnect from Tinder entirely!

– Delete your current Tinder account: Settings > App Settings > Delete Account.

Some of us have been experiencing difficulties when trying to delete our Tinder accounts—often one of the first signs you’re Shadowbanned.

You can also check this one out: Trouble with account deletion. It’s what Tinder suggests you do if you’re having such trouble.

On the other hand, find a way to get rid of it entirely. Remove as much information and photos as you can. You need to delete it!

– Uninstall Tinder.
The next step after deleting your Tinder account is uninstalling Tinder. Since we want to start fresh, we’ve got to do this right!

– Use another device to install Tinder (or Tinder from the web) and get an entirely new phone number.

Not all of us have multiple devices around the house, however, if you’ve been using Tinder on your phone, you can use it on the web on your laptop now.

On the other hand, if you haven’t got any other devices, then a factory reset on your phone will do the work.

The most crucial part is the phone number. You don’t want Tinder to know it’s you, hence we’re gonna need a different phone number.

Google Voice numbers were effective back when they weren’t overused.

However, they’re so much used that at least one in three Google Voice numbers have been used for Tinder accounts.

Hence you need a unique number, one that’s never been used on Tinder before. Tinderophone can do the work and beyond!

It’s way better than buying a new SIM card and it’s guaranteed to remove the Shadowban.

– New Facebook/Email, account/Apple ID, IP address, pictures, and bank info(if you’re planning to use premium subscriptions).
Tinder remembers you. That’s why you can’t use anything that indicates it’s you when you open a new account.

Nothing that you used in your previous account, not even pictures!

Note: About the IP address, unplug your internet router, wait for 5 minutes, plug it back in, and you’ve got yourself a brand new IP address.

– Download Tinder with your new Apple ID/google play account and IP address.
It is very important that there’s no trace that indicates an old Shadowbanned user—you.

You want to renew everything you used on your previous Tinder account. 

– Open your new Tinder account.

DO NOT use your old photos, old social media, or old bank info with which you paid anything on Tinder!

This time you want to read the Tinder guide and avoid getting Shadowbanned again.

If you feel like this is too much effort to put into it, then think of getting any other dating apps, because there’s no other way you’ll get back on Tinder.

In fact, there might just be! Check out 8 Ways to Use Tinder Discreetly Without an Account, to know more about the details.

Why am I Shadowbanned?

Perhaps you didn’t hear of Tinder Etiquette, which is exactly what you should know before you get Tinder. Still not sure?

Here are 9 reasons you got Shadowbanned:

• You broke the Tinder community guidelines.
  Click here to read the rest, and read more about each of them in detail!
  
  Nudity/Sexual Content
  Harassment
  Violence and Physical Harm
  Hate Speech
  Private Information
  Spam
  Promotion or Solicitation
  Prostitution and Trafficking
  Scamming
  Impersonation
  Minors

• You swiping to much right uncontrollably.
• You sent the same message to a lot of people.
• You ghosted people.
• You restarted your account too many times.
• You’ve been reported (multiple times).
• You’ve been rude or disrespectful to your matches.
• Your profile is offensive, fake, or disturbing.
• You were rude to your matches.

What’s the difference between the ban and Shadowban on Tinder? Why not just ban me?

With a Tinder ban, you won't be able to access your account again, ever! Matches likes, and conversations are all gone.

Essentially, a ban on Tinder is Tinder's way of permanently removing you from the app and not allowing you to use it any longer.

A Tinder Shadowban can also frustrate you. It's a form of ban, but instead of being completely expelled from the app, you still get to use Tinder.

However, you'll experience a distorted version of the app where things seem somewhat normal until you realize something is off.

No matches, no likes, no messages, and so on. It's like sitting alone in a dusty, quiet room.

Then why doesn't Tinder just ban you outright? Well, if you're paying for premium subscriptions, a ban would render those subscriptions invalid.

If you're not currently paying a subscription, you may notice that you're not getting any matches, which can make you feel down and more likely to subscribe to a premium feature.

By shadowbanning you, Tinder keeps you around with the hope that you'll think your account is fine and just need a boost through premium subscriptions.

Banning you would mean no opportunities for you to notice the problem and pay to solve it. That's one of the reasons why you get shadowbanned instead of being outright banned.

How to not get Shadowbanned again on Tinder?

Ok, besides reading and following the Tinder community guidelines which you MUST, there are a few other things you can do:

1. Make a decent profile, with a decent non-offending bio, photos, and anthem.
2. Make your opening lines irresistible! Get your matches to text you back and want to engage with you.
3. Be active.
4. Don’t ghost your matches!
5. Know what to say on Tinder and keep the conversations going.
6. Be nice enough to not get reported.
7. Don’t swipe right every person nor be too picky.

Save yourself time and effort, and simply follow the guidelines!

Sincerely,

Liam