A message to anyone looking for a potential bae through dating apps: Be yourself. At least that’s what Sean Rad, CEO of Tinder, says.
At Advertising Week Europe in London on Wednesday, Rad revealed what kind of profile photos tend to get more people to swipe right on the app. When asked about pics on the app by Cosmopolitan UK Editor Farrah Storr, Rad responded that most people succeed when their profile photos represent themselves and their personal interests—Sports, hobbies, travel, etc.
“The data shows this: When your photo expresses something about your interests—like a skier skiing—or something about your personality, you do better,” he said. “You do better as in you get more matches. I always tell people to be yourself.”
So, what kind of pics don’t work? Glad you asked. Your selfie game may be strong, but you might want to ease up a little with those.
“The model-y poses never work,” he added. And don’t even think about using a group photo, because you won’t be getting very far with that either—How’s your potential soulmate going to know which person in the photo is you?
When you think about it, this advice makes a lot of sense. Dating is all about finding someone who’s compatible with you—who shares your interests, or whose personality completes your own. You definitely can’t figure out whether or not you’ll be compatible with someone from only their online dating profile, but you can get a much better idea from a picture of someone hiking than from a close-up selfie.
Tinder has roughly ten million daily users and has matched nearly 11 billion couples since its launch, according to Business Insider. So, the moral of the story here is to listen to Sean Rad.