Why Does Tinder Show Me People Far Away?

Ivana Kotorchevikj

Written by Ivana Kotorchevikj Social Media / Tinder

Linkedin Twitter Published 5 months ago / updated 5 months ago - 7 min read

If you’ve used dating apps in your life, chances are you’ve used the Tinder app at one point. I’ve also used Tinder several times. I like the app because you can set the distance range in which you want Tinder to show you potential matches. However, sometimes I’ve noticed that Tinder shows me people that are far away from me.

Let’s be honest – few of us would be willing to travel 1000 miles to meet a person for the first time in our lives. Most of us want the date to be at least in the place where we live.

In this post, we’ll cover the most common reasons why Tinder shows you people well out of your radius.

Why you see Tinder profiles far away from you

If you swipe on Tinder and start seeing several people outside of your Tinder distance radius, there are two main reasons for this:

• Tinder Passport - Tinder Passport is available in Tinder’s subscription plans. It allows you to check out matches from another location in the world. If a Tinder user who has a Tinder Passport swiped right on you, you’d see them in your potential matches if you have Tinder Plus, Gold, or Platinum.
• Discovery Settings - Sometimes, Tinder’s algorithm might show you matches outside of your location preferences because it believes they would be better suited for you. To check our discovery preferences, tap the profile icon > Settings > scroll to Discovery > set your Maximum Distance.

Explore what Tinder’s Rewind feature is and how you can use it.

Additional factors that influence the distance on Tinder

Apart from Tinder Passport and Discovery preferences, there are additional reasons that might influence why you see people far away.

• You were close to them at some point - If you visited another city recently and you are a Tinder subscriber, you’d see people from that location after 24 hours. Also, you might have moved closer to a person, and they swiped right on you. They will still appear on your list if you have Tinder Premium. Same, if someone who lives farther away moves closer to you and swipes you right, they’ll appear on your list if you have Tinder Gold, even after they returning.
• You’ve run out of people in your radius - If you’ve swiped away too many people in your set distance radius and TInder has run out of people to show. So it shows you matches that match your interests, not your preferences, which might be people farther from your set distance.
• There are not enough matches in your area. If you live in a location with just a few Tinder users, and you have very specific preferences, Tinder shows people outside of your radius to keep your feed full.
• Their Tinder location isn’t updated - Tinder tracks your location even if you don’t update it in the app. This way, people’s current location may not match the location on their Tinder profile. The best thing to do is swipe left unless you are open to such opportunities.
• App bug - It’s not uncommon for Tinder to experience technical issues, particularly with the location and distance.
• The Tinder app is out of date - Sometimes, the issue may be caused by the app being out-of-date. Updating the app should update your fix and remove any bugs.

Troubleshoot steps to fix Tinder profiles out of range

If you keep on getting people far outside of your distance range, this is how to set Tinder to show you people with your preferences:

1. Set your distance range

By default, Tinder shows you potential matches up to 50 miles (~80km) away. You can set your distance range anywhere between 1 mile (~1.6km) and up to 100 miles (~160km).

To reset your distance preference, open the Tinder app > tap on your profile picture > select ‘Settings’ > and scroll down to the ‘Discovery’ section > Here, set the maximum distance radius in which you want to see people on Tinder.

2. Swipe left on potential matches you don’t like

When you see users well outside your range, swipe left on them to let the system know you are not open to meeting with people far away from you.

3. Log out and log back into the app

If you believe you are seeing Tinder profiles out of your range due to a technical bug, try logging out and back into the app. Tap on your profile picture, select ‘Settings’ > scroll down and tap on ‘Logout’. Then, log in back in.

4. Clear the cache from the Tinder app

If you are using Android, follow the steps below to clear the case from the Tinder app:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Tap on ‘Apps & notifications’.
3. Find and open ‘Tinder’.
4. Tap on ‘Storage & cache’.
5. Tap on ‘Clear Cache’.

If you have an iOS device, the only way to clear the cache is to delete and reinstall the app.

5. Delete and reinstall the Tinder app

Deleting and reinstalling the app may help restart your feed and resolve the issue. Find the Tinder app on your home screen, tap and hold it and select ‘Delete’. Afterward, go to the App Store or Google Play Store and reinstall it. Log back with your app credential and check if Tinder again shows you people far away.

6. Contact Tinder support

If none of the above troubleshooting fixes worked, contact Tinder to report the issue. Submit a report describing your issue or contact them via phone at 214-853-4309.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve reviewed the reasons why Tinder shows you potential matches far away from you. Most frequently, the person is using Tinder Passport to check out matches from another location. Other reasons are that Tinder thinks some profiles may be more suited to you even though they don’t match your preferences, or you’ve moved close to a person at some point, or they came into your distance range.

Whatever the reason, the above-listed solutions should help you resolve the issue with Tinder profiles out of range.

Next, check out what Swipe Note is on Tinder.