Tinder’s Year in Swipe 2025 report shows a clear shift in how young adults are approaching relationships. According to the platform, singles in 2025 “slowed down, showed up, and started saying what they meant”, laying the groundwork for 2026 to become the year of no mixed signals.
The findings come from Tinder’s newsroom release dated December 3, 2025, supported by a survey conducted by Opinium among 4,000 users aged 18–25 across the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
‘Boyfriends are embarrassing’ and soft launches are game changer
This year’s viral moments from “boyfriends are embarrassing” meme to the rise of solo soft launches reflected a whole generational shift. Younger daters are rejecting relationship performativity and choosing autonomy, self-expression and emotional transparency instead.
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Melissa Hobley, Tinder’s Chief Marketing Officer, said: “Singles are looking for a connection that feels easy, honest and a little bit fun. They’re done overthinking every message and overanalyzing every match.”
Trends that will define dating in 2026
Clear coding:
The biggest shift, Tinder says, is the demand for clarity and declaring the intentions upfront. 64% of users say emotional honesty is essential, 60% want clear communication of intentions, 73% know they like someone when they can “be themselves” around them. Interestingly, 76% of the users are open to using AI tools for their dating journey to make it more efficient. Whether it's about selecting photos or suggesting date ideas. This signals a preference for accuracy without beating arounfd the bush.
Hot-take dating:
Standing for something is officially in. According to the Tinder–Opinium survey: 37% say shared values are crucial while 54% list “being rude to staff” as the biggest dealbreaker. Top value-based filters include the racial justice, family views, and LGBTQ+ rights. Political differences seemed to be an issue in some cases, though men appear more flexible than women about dating someone with opposing views.
Friendfluence:
In 2026, approval from your inner circle matters more than ever. 42% say friends influence their romantic choices whereas 37% plan to go on double or group dates. Tinder attributes this rise partly to the success of its Double Date feature, where users send 25% more messages per match than in one-on-one chats.
Emotional vibe coding:
Kindness and availability have taken the centre stage where singles want chemistry without chaos. 56% of the users prioritise honest conversations while 45% want more empathy after rejection.
“Hopeful” was the No. 1 word used to describe dating in 2025.
The preferred first-date vibe? Something low-pressure like a walk or coffee with 35% seeking a “low-key lover” who brings calm, not drama.
What dominated Tinder in 2025?
Tinder saw playful and expressive communication trends where the "Flirt Mark" emoji became a symbol of light-hearted attention, and the candle emoji embodied slow-paced, mindful dating. “Love, no labels” reflected strong support for LGBTQ+ inclusion which was important to 32% of the user who were single.
Globally, top interests included travel, nature, sports, singing and walking. In India, the most popular profile tags were 90’s kid, photography, biryani, foodie, Harry Potter, movies, music, poetry and Instagram.
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Astrologically, Leo, Scorpio, Libra, Aquarius and Aries have dominated Tinder bios. As for love languages, Indian users leaned toward quality time, thoughtful gestures, touch, gifts and compliments.
The mood for 2026 Tinder users is hopeful, open and clear about what matters. From intentional honesty to values-driven matching, Tinder’s data points to a year in which singles lead with confidence not confusion. As the app puts it, hope is hot and bare minimum is not.
