2025 Dating App Predictions: What Trends Will Rule This Year?
Each year, beloved dating app Tinder’s Year in Swipe reveals the love, sex and dating trends that dominated the year and makes predictions for the year ahead.
What defined dating in 2024 and what does 2025 have in store for our love lives? From “loud-looking” to “micro-connections,” here’s what Tinder predicts.
What dating trends reigned in 2024?
Loud looking
In 2024, people ditched vague descriptions of what they were searching for in a partner and went specific. Are you looking for a queer guy in sports or a straight, artistic woman? 2024 was the year we said so.
Astrology
2024 was also the year many of us turned to the stars to help us choose a partner. The most attractive signs in Tinder bios were Virgo, Gemini, Leo, Scorpio, and Sagittarius.
Nearly 40% of singles said that “astrology love predictions” will continue to shape who they date in 2025.
Love styles
Like “love languages,” love styles stayed at the top of dater’s priorities in 2024.
The most common "love style" used in a Tinder bio was time together, followed by touch, thoughtful gestures, compliments, and presents.
Bio mentions
What words did online dating app users use to describe themselves and their ideal date in their 2024 bios? Last year, the fastest-growing mentions were “pickleball” (+148%), “freak” (+118%), “deserve” (+95%) and “backpack” (+87%).
Fun fact: What was the number one song on Tinder user profiles?
"Timeless" by The Weeknd and Playboi Carti. Other artists popular among daters were Kendrick Lamar, Zach Bryan, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan.
What Dating Trends Will Rule in 2025?
Loyal, honest golden retriever partners
In 2025, nearly 45% of Tinder’s surveyed singles want a “Goldren retriever” type of partner. AKA, someone loyal, honest, friendly, energetic, and optimistic.
Other desired characteristics in 2025 include trustworthiness (40%), physical attraction (35%), shared values (31%), emotional availability (30%) and shared interests (28%).
Knowing what you want - and don’t want
2025 is set to be another year of “loud looking,” with singles on and offline being more upfront about what they want (“Don’t talk to me unless you’re looking for something serious.”)
Deal-breakers are as important to daters in 2025, who know what they want and don’t want in a potential partner.
This year's top deal-breakers are predicted to be bad hygiene (50%), rudeness (44%), and talking too much about an ex (34%).
Less is more
In the spirit of intentional dating, a quarter of surveyed singles said they are choosing fewer but more meaningful people for their dating roster.
To make better choices (and avoid disappointment), more and more singles are enlisting friends to check out potential dates and help find the best-matched partners.
“Kiss-met” love
2025 is all about manifesting. In that spirit, Tinder has created an interactive vision board tool for users to manifest their ideal mate.
Tinder also predicts daters will move away from “strict rules” and embrace “the magic of the unplanned.”
Micro-connections
2025 is also predicted to see a rise of “micro-connections” and “nano-ships.” These can include things like a cute good morning text to exchanging a coy glance with an attractive stranger on the subway.
While last year was more about casually exploring (date-stacking, anyone?), this year’s dating trends are more about setting intentions, leading with purpose, and not messing around (unless that’s your personal intention).
If you’re happily single and looking to date this year, think about what you want, whether it’s kink, sex, dates, or long-term love, don’t be afraid to ask for it.
