10 Red Flags To Watch Out For On Someone’s Dating App Profile

10 Red Flags On Someone’s Dating Profile You Need To Recognize

standret – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
If Covid taught us anything, dating apps are here to stay. With apps like Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, and OkCupid, it’s easier than ever to meet someone (hopefully) special.
You have hundreds of options at your fingertips; you are capable of picking the perfect guy/gal. Unfortunately, while swiping and matching up with compatible profiles is quick and efficient, it is easy to get yourself mixed up with a not-that-great person. After all, profiles can be fluffed and faked.
So, by all means, get out there and meet some people, but beware of these 10 red flags on someone’s dating profile you need to recognize. This list comprises 10 common red flags that are not specifically based on men or women – this means everyone can be guilty of these.
Red Flag #1: No Profile Pic

spaxiax – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
In my personal experience, having no profile picture can mean a few things:
-First, they are insecure about their looks.
-They are trying to highlight other features that might be “better” than their face.
-They like their privacy.
-They need to remain anonymous on dating apps due to their job.
All of these can be true from time to time – but more often than not, if they have no profile picture or if the profile picture is a meme or random image – they are probably either catfishing or have something to hide. So do yourself a favor and move on from them.
Red Flag #2: Saying They Don’t Like Drama

Xavier Lorenzo – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Have you ever heard someone say they are drama-free or don’t do drama? What usually happens – is the opposite. Most people who claim to want nothing to do with drama are usually the center of tons of it.
In the dating app scene, this holds true often. So, if you see a dating app profile that says anything like:
-“No drama zone.”
-“I don’t deal with drama.”
-“I’m drama-free, so don’t bring any drama around me.”
It is a facade – swipe away and move on.
Red Flag #3: They Have Children In Their Profile

Drobot Dean – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Now, this one is controversial. On the one hand, if you have kids, you should probably say up front that you have children.
But, on the other hand, there is an argument to be made for disclosing you have kids without posting pics of them on your profile.
Now, if you have pictures of children on your profile and claim not to have kids, that is a little weird. Why are you posting pictures of children that aren’t yours?
Are you at least related to them? Do you have the parent’s permission to post photos of their kids on your dating profile? Social media is one thing, but on a dating app is just weird.
Red Flag #4: The Good Time Guy/Gal

nenetus – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
If their profile says, “I’m here for a good time, not a long time,” they want to just sleep around.
Maybe they were shooting for coy or witty, but it’s just uncool. It’s better to be honest about what you’re looking for upfront so that when someone matches with you, you are both on the same page.
If you see anything like that played-out sleight-of-hand BS, swipe away and move on.
Red Flag #5: The Don’t Match With Me If People

Gorodenkoff – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
If you are swiping through profiles and you see profiles with rules in their bio, such as:
-“Don’t swipe on me if you have kids.”
-“Don’t swipe on me if you have 5 kids and 4 baby daddies.”
-“Don’t swipe on me if you are lazy.”
-“Don’t swipe on me if you weigh over (x) lbs.”
-Don’t swipe on me if you voted for (x).”
I’m not saying you shouldn’t make your requirements known, but you don’t need to be overly negative to do this.
People who are aggressively negative in their profile are likely to be very polarizing IRL, which may not be your vibe.
Suppose you match up with what they are saying, then great. However, it might be best to swipe away and move on if you see things like this on their dating profile. Then, you can find someone less negative on that app.
Red Flag #6: Anyone who says, “If You Want To Know, Just Ask”

nenetus – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
It can be tough to fill out a dating profile. But the lack of effort is very telling for the effort to expect in a relationship with this person.
So, err on the side of caution and move on.
Red Flag #7: The Fake Perfect Guy/Gal

iammotos – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Have you heard the expression, “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is”? Well, the same goes for dating profiles.
If they have everything you could want in the perfect man or woman on their profile, there’s a strong chance something is amiss.
I’m not saying you need to be a pessimist, but there’s a chance they are dating it up in the worst way and know exactly how to bait people to get more matches.
Yes, there are good apples, but is it worth the risk for you? If not, swipe away and move on.
Red Flag #8: The Bookworm

Strelciuc – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
If their dating profile has pictures of them in a library, photos of them reading books, or pictures of them writing – run.
But, seriously, there’s a chance they might be a know-it-all who constantly corrects you or tries to show off their superior intellect.
Suppose that’s your thing, great. And hey, maybe they like to read. First, however, be on the lookout for the signs of “Know-It-All-Itis,” including:
-Pronouncing words differently than everyone else but claiming that’s the correct pronunciation (Think Ted Mosbey’s encyclo-pae-dia nonsense).
-Randomly spouts facts about conversation topics if nobody is paying attention to them.
-Claims they can say the entire alphabet backward flawlessly (I doubt that).
-Claims to have an IQ higher than Einstein but somehow got a 2.9 GPA in college.
If you notice these, you should have seen that red flag sooner…don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Red Flag #9: The Dude/Chick Who Lies About How You Met

Natalia – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Let’s say you match up with a great guy/gal and start messaging in-app. So far, so good. Now it’s time to move off-app, but they say something like, “If anyone asks, we met at the ___.” This could be the library, the grocery store, the local coffee shop, or any other “less taboo” place.
This is not a great start. It’s even worse if it says in their profile, “We didn’t meet on a dating app” or something like that. If they are willing to lie about something that isn’t a big deal, what else will they lie about? Move on.
Red Flag #10: The Over-Communicator

armina – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
This person seems like a catch. They have a well-thought-out bio, their pictures are normal, and they check all your primary boxes for matching, so you swipe right.
You get excited when you two match up – clearly, they see something in your profile, too! You start chatting, and then bam! They hit you with the mini novels back to back. Each message is a giant paragraph, taking twists and turns, and contains multiple storylines – you can’t keep up.
I mean, I love clear and concise communication. Unfortunately, the length of your response is not correlated to the quality of that response.
If you notice this, it might be best to stop things before they ask you to tell your life’s story via text. It’s 2024; nobody should have that much free time to write novels for every response.
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