What should you put in a dating profile?

A useful profile gives another person something real to respond to without publishing a map of your offline life. This guide is a writing framework, not a claim that a wording formula produces more matches.

Show specifics, not a résumé

Replace “I like music and travel” with one or two concrete details: the kind of small venue you enjoy, a meal you learned to cook, or how you like to spend a free Sunday. Add what you are seeking in plain terms if the platform allows it. Specific prompts make a natural question possible; they do not guarantee a response.

Use recent photos that fairly represent how you look. Include variety only if it feels authentic. Do not use a child, friend or former partner as social proof. Anyone else pictured should have agreed to the use of that image.

Bumble’s own profile guidance recommends current photos that reflect the person and prompts that show their interests. Its support documentation describes prompts as context for starting conversations and advises authentic answers. Those are provider recommendations, not independent evidence that a particular profile format will produce matches.

Run a privacy edit

The Australian Government eSafety Commissioner advises leaving full name, address, workplace, location and information about children out of a dating profile. It also recommends avoiding photos reused on social media, not linking social accounts, and checking the platform’s privacy policy and profile-visibility controls.

The US Federal Trade Commission also recommends checking app permissions in your phone’s privacy settings and turning off access the app does not need. Review location, contacts and photo access before uploading your profile.

On each photo and prompt, ask:

• Does it show a house number, work badge, school, regular route or vehicle plate?
• Is this same photo publicly searchable under my full name?
• Does the text reveal when my home is empty or where I am every week?
• Does it expose another person’s identity or a child’s routine?

Avoid images or text that identify children in your care or expose another person without their agreement.

Avoid performance claims

Do not add a profession, height, age, relationship goal or lifestyle claim because you think an algorithm rewards it. Misleading details make informed choices harder for everyone. If an aspect of identity matters for compatibility or safety, share it at the level and time you choose; nobody is entitled to information that puts you at risk.

End with a conversational handle

A prompt like “Tell me the meal you would cross town for” gives a match a clear, low-pressure starting point. Avoid tests, insults or demands framed as boundaries. State a positive preference, and use platform filters where available.

Before publishing, preview the profile as a stranger and perform the privacy edit once more. Then move to our first-message guide or review the full dating-app privacy checklist.