How to create the perfect dating app profile

Dating experts share their top tips for curating the best version of yourself in profile form

Finding love at first swipe is incredibly difficult, from the photos you choose to the details you divulge, how to craft your dating app profile undoubtedly plays a crucial role in your digital quest for romance.

If first impressions are everything in the real world, they’re even more so on apps like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge, where users make snap impulse decisions based purely on a person’s name, portrait and bio.

To maximise your chances of finding a decent human being – preferably one who will not ghost, breadcrumb or zombie you – here are some measures you can take so as to curate the best version of yourself in dating app profile form.

Choose a good quality photograph

You have one key job.

Nothing screams incompetence like uploading a blurry snap, and incompetence doesn’t bode well for your chances of landing a date.

In today’s smartphone society, where iPhones have better resolution than some cameras, you have no excuse for fronting your profile with an out-of-focus, possibly drunken, selfie. Do not be that person.

Speaking to The Independent, dating psychologist Madeleine Mason Roantree advises opting for a simple, no-frills headshot.

“Avoid photos with a bunch of friends, no full body images and don’t post old images.” she said.

New research from dating photography agency Hey Saturday reveals 75 per cent of women are turned off by photographs of men wearing sunglasses on dating app profiles, so you might also want to keep your shades out of the picture.

Behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings suggests steering clear of highly-edited snaps – like ones that have undergone heavy filtration processes on Snapchat or Instagram.

Reflect your multifaceted personality with additional photos

Most dating apps give users the option of adding multiple photographs, typically up to six, in addition to a primary one.

Now you’ve proven your basic capabilities as someone who can take a headshot for your lead image, it’s time to get creative, says Mason.

“Think about how you want to be perceived; if you are into drinking and partying, have a photo with you being sociable drink-in-haad,” she says, “but consider this may come across as someone not looking for a serious relationship.”

Demonstrate your values in your bio

Don’t go all evangelical (“has a heart of gold and a soul of silver“) and don’t be a clutz (“I’m funny”), but see your bio as an opportunity to represent who you are and some of the things that matter to you.

“Demonstrate your sportiness, philanthropy, love of family and spirituality,” says Mason, who advises trading didactic statements like “I’m sporty” for tangible examples e.g. “I love my weekly tennis session”.

Think of it as a CV, only the role you’re applying for has far more nuanced requirements.

Don’t tell porky pies

Just like it’s very easy to add an extra A to your A-level results as listed on your CV, it’s an all-too seductive temptation to tell little white lies on your dating app profile.

Maybe you’ve added an extra inch to your height or been a little hyperbolic with your descriptions e.g. saying you’re a keen gym-goer when you’ve only just googled “nearest gym”.

“You will be found out at eventually and get ‘ditched’ in the process,” says Mason, “so you may as well embrace who you are and find someone who will love you for that.”

That’s not to say you need to divulge every skeleton in your closet.

Be selective with what you choose to share, just don’t start saying you’re into fashion when you thought Hermès was an STI.

Grammar: check yourself before you wreck yourself

It’s not pedantic, it’s just common decency.

“Lack of apostrophes, random capital letters, sentences with no breaks and misspellings are a big turn off,” says Hemmings.

Although these things may not matter much to you, they are very telling to potential dates and it just seems lazy, she adds.

Avoid cliché and cheese

Even if it seems like the funniest and most original thing you’ve ever said, chances are we’ve heard it before.

Fake reviews from ex-lovers (”a demon in the sack”), jokes about Brexit (”I just want to leave the single market”) and telling everyone you “love to eat”, just like every other living and breathing mammal on the planet, should be avoided at all costs.

“Don’t even think about putting ‘University of Life’ as your education and step away from ‘country pubs with roaring log fires’,” adds Hemmings.

Dating coach James Preece tells The Independent that in order to stand out, it’s important to avoid generic platitudes, particularly ones along the lines of “I have a sense of humour.”

“Would anyone state that they don’t?” he says.

“Most things people write are true of 99 per cent of other members.

“They like spending time with friends and family, they like eating and watching films.

“That’s purely existing. What makes you special and what is unique to you? It’s only by mentioning these points that will make you stand out.”