Reporting Someone On Bumble, Hinge, Tinder Dating Apps

Reporting Abuse, Harassment; Revenge Reporting, Blocking People On Dating Sites

Dating apps can be a great way to meet people beyond your social circles, outside your normal routines, beyond your immediate neighborhoods and in addition to your current methods for meeting others offline, in-person. With that said, dating apps are far from perfect and should come with a warning for all users.

The amount of screening that goes on to approve a new registered account is minimal, if not negligible. Anyone can create a dating profile on most dating apps within a matter of seconds. I should know, I have dummy accounts to monitor offers, product changes, client profiles, feature testing on most major apps and have not gotten banned.

Unfortunately, the amount of harassment, scamming, ghosting, lying, physical and verbal abuse is at an all-time high. Companies are quick to approve new registered accounts to appease investors and shareholders but will drag their feet to get them banned.

Below is an overview of what to expect on dating apps, when to report users on dating apps, how to report users, ways to protect yourself and tips on maintaining privacy.

Related read: How To ID Scammers On Dating Apps

Online Dating Misconceptions, Dating App Myths

Dating apps give users the false sense of security these days with verified accounts. All this does is verify that someone created a profile. It doesn’t mean they are telling the truth about their age, location, intentions, height, age of photos, job, education, criminal backgrounds, STD status, marital status or anything of that like.

Online Dating Verification, Verified Dating Profiles

Online dating verification is akin to a bouncer checking ID’s at a bar. You don’t know if the bartender is paying attention, is buzzed, was paid off or let things slide. Dating apps do not do background checks. Just like a married man can enter a bar and take off his wedding ring, a married man can also create a dating profile. Assume nothing, everything when joining apps. Use at your own risk

Related read: Online Dating Background Checks

What To Do Before Creating A Dating Profile

Before you even consider downloading an app, one should do a few things to verify privacy, check on information that is made public on the internet and review social media to limit routines and other sensitive information.

First thing one should do is make social media accounts private. This means making Facebook and Instagram private. People divulge too much info on the internet like hangouts, views from their homes, routines and more. This can all be used to dig up information about you.

The next thing you should do is Google yourself. See what information is made public. Things like phone numbers and addresses are public. Check Google results with your name, name + current city and name + hometown. Check Google images. You need to make sure to scrub information as much as possible if you care about your safety and privacy.

The next thing one should do is download a third party phone number like Google Voice, so they can use it to register on apps, message dates and communicate with others they hardly know.

How To Create A Dating Profile – Safety Tips When Using Dating Apps

Dating apps will ask you many questions when you create a dating profile. They will send verification codes to your phone or email, and will ask personal questions about you. For a list of questions, check out these dating profile templates ahead of time before downloading any dating app.

Just because a dating app asks you to fill something out, doesn’t mean you have to answer. While its good etiquette to be honest in a dating profile, you don’t have to be overly specific. For example, many dating apps ask for job and company but you don’t have to list your title and where you work – listing function and industry is fine.

Similarly, some apps might ask you to sync Instagram accounts and Spotify accounts. While more photos could show how you spend your time and offer conversation starters, they could reveal where you hang out, when you are not at home or account questions i.e. pet names, hometowns, and where you went to school. 

What Is Reportable On Dating Apps? Tinder? Bumble, Hinge? 

Anything that goes against the terms of service on any dating app is reportable. This includes lying, bad behavior, stalking, harassment, and more. Above that, one should not expect apps to take immediate action or be decisive once you file a report. It can take time to review complaints.

Apps get bombarded with questions and complaints, so it should come as no surprise that not everything will result in a ban, removal or criminal investigation. Check each app’s terms of service to know what items, actions and behavior go against their policies.

Other offenses are a bit ambiguous. Is being married on a dating app a reportable offense? Is lying about age or height a reportable offense? Is using old photos that don’t look like you a reportable offense? Is lying about being unemployed a reportable offense? Perhaps the answer is no to all of these questions per terms of service, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to report people.

The more people report others for bad behavior, the more we can hold each other accountable. One can’t rely on apps to monitor and take action on users, so the more people report others for lying, the more honest we can be about each other.

Related read: How To Reject Someone On Dating Apps

Abusive Language Online Dating, Reporting Offline Behavior On Dating Apps

It’s not unheard of, especially for women, to be on the receiving end of harassment and verbal abuse on dating apps. Check out Reddit posts of women rejecting dates or date ideas only to be told they are not that hot, are ugly, are fat or weren’t that cute.

This manipulative language and obvious abuse show the toxicity that dating apps can have due to increased levels of anonymity. Too many people let this slide. The more instances like this that are reported, the fewer people like this will exist on dating apps.

There are many incels, jaded men and women as well as those suffering from mental health issues on dating apps. Any unfavorable actions taken against them can easily trigger folks. Best not to engage with such folks. No need to explain rejection. No need to turn down date ideas if you feel uncomfortable or the behavior by men is creepy.

Off Hinge Behavior Meaning

Off Hinge behavior refers to anything that happens off the dating app itself i.e. on Whatsapp, text, snapchat, in-person dates etc.

Related read: Dating App Rejection

Revenge Reporting On Hinge, Bumble & Tinder; Banned For No Reason

It can take one report to get a user banned on a dating app. Similarly, a dozen reports may not do anything. Even if a user is banned from a dating app, the relaxed registration protocols make it easy for users to create new profiles with new phone numbers.

Even if you don’t file a report, it’s possible that the perpetrator files a preemptive report on you even if you did nothing. They could block you, making it harder to screenshot or report them. All the more reason to screenshot every match, message and profile.

Reporting people on dating apps can result in hostility, unwanted visits or packages to your workplace, stalking on social media or posting revenge porn to family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Learning how to read people, ID red flags and spend lots of time getting to know someone can help reduce abuse and harassment but it may not be enough.

Instances of celebrities being banned happen all too often because many people report profiles thinking they would never join a dating app like Bumble. If enough people report a profile, it could increase the chances of being banned. Revenge reporting often happens on Bumble, as people can share profiles and get their friends to report profiles more efficiently.

Do People Know When You Report Them On Dating Apps (Hinge, Bumble Or Tinder)? 

Most apps do not notify others of who made complaints about them. That would be a huge violation of safety and privacy, however, many guys don’t get many likes, nor matches so if they are reported, they can make a reasonable guess on who reported them based on the timing and frequency (or lack thereof) of questionable interactions.

Apps will review complaints and take action if there is enough reasonable doubt but the evidence is often lacking.

Too often, people migrate off apps and use Whatsapp, Instagram or Snapchat to continue conversations and plan dates. Pro-tip: one doesn’t need to get off the apps nor should they to plan dates. Stay on the app. Manipulative guys and scammers will often be pushy to get numbers, get you to meet asap or switch platforms. Don’t put up with this.

Does Bumble Report To Police? Does Hinge Report To Local Authorities?

Not always, not even in most cases. Apps would rather keep things quiet than get bad PR about their apps. If you want to file a report, do it directly.

Hinge Report vs Remove vs Skip, Does Reporting Someone On Hinge Block Them?

Hinge remove just removes someone from being able to see your profile unless they create a new profile (pretty common among guys). If you report someone, but you still see their profile, take screenshots, report them again and let Hinge know you reported them previously, are still seeing them, and they likely created a new account.

The same goes for Tinder. Tapping the x on the Hinge is like skipping the profile. If you want to skip the profile for less amount of time than by tapping ‘X’, just close the app and re-open it. If the same profile keep coming back that you want to skip temporarily, change your filters i.e. age, distance etc. Tapping ‘X’ skips the profile for a longer period of time.

How To Report Someone On Dating Apps, Hinge, Bumble

Stay on the apps when communicating. The more you move away, the harder it is to prove harassment, ghosting, abuse and more.

Screenshot everything. Texts, profiles, prompts, bios and even messages sent to your Linkedin, Facebook, and Instagram accounts.

Learn to ID suspicious behavior i.e. unmatching after getting your number and verbal abuse for rejection.

Rather than try to accuse someone of something, best to move on. Block if needed. Make your social media accounts private. Delete public info about yourself.

Be persistent. Things fall through the cracks. Email apps directly, contact their social media teams on Reddit, Instagram, and beyond.

How To Block Someone On Dating Apps

There is usually a button to block people but this doesn’t always work as people can create new profiles.

How To Report Sexual Assault On Dating Apps; How To Report Rape

Read this article by ProPublica. I was contact by ProPublica when putting together this article a few years back.

How Do You Know If Someone Reported You On Bumble?

Bumble will contact you.

False Reporting On Hinge 

If you make false reports on Hinge, you can get banned.

What Happens When You Report Someone On Tinder? Hinge? Bumble?

That depends on the evidence, reported activity, other reports etc. It could be nothing, it could be banned right away. People are not alerted but if they have no matches or communication with others, they can reasonably assume it was you even though no specific details are revealed.

How To Report Catfishing, Hinge, Bumble Catfish Report, Girl, Guy Looks Nothing Like Photos

Screenshot the profile before meeting someone, as they can unmatch or block you. Provide detail of catfishing (age, appearance etc). Focus on the lying. You can typically report profiles from matches and conversations but if not, if you can capture profiles, photos, time stamps etc, you can contact apps after the fact i.e. unmatching, after a date, after a profile is deleted.

Perfectly fine to report people for using old photos or photos that don’t look like them now.

Are Hinge Reports Anonymous? Are Bumble Reports Anonymous?

In theory, yes, but if some doesn’t have many matches or dates and is banned all of a sudden, they can put two and two together.

Reporting Exes On Bumble, Hinge Dating Apps, Reporting Exes Online Dating Sites

A common trend these days is making frivolous claims to get exes booted off dating apps. If you see your ex, it’s best to block them before they have a chance to make a false claim against you.

If You Report Someone On Hinge/Bumble Can They See You?

They can if the create a new account or use their friend’s account to see your profile.

How Many Reports To Get Banned On Bumble? Hinge? Tinder?

Could be one, could take half dozen, could be none will be enough. Assume nothing, everything.

Moderation Service For Online Dating, Reasons To Report Someone On Hinge, Bumble

Just because you have more information about a stranger on a dating app than you do when meeting someone in person doesn’t mean said info is accurate. Don’t trust strangers you barely know. Don’t expect apps to conduct background checks or keep predators off dating sites.

Learn how others respond to uncomfortable situations i.e. turning down alcoholic drinks, changing date plans from night to day, rejecting unwanted touching early on and being pushy about your dating life i.e. asking about sexual partners, others you are dating or other personal questions.

You learn a lot about people in the way they handle rejection, uncomfortable situations and questions, as well as when they don’t get things their way.