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Tinder Secret Admirer Explained [How It Works!]

Tinder Secret Admirer game card

💡 Key Insights:

  • How Secret Admirer works: A daily card game showing 4 hidden profiles with one person who already liked you, giving you a chance at an instant match.
  • Limited availability: The feature appears randomly, typically 10-15 swipes into a session, and can't be accessed on demand.
  • Premium feature promotion: Secret Admirer is Tinder's way of showcasing their "Likes You" feature, available through paid Tinder Gold and Platinum subscriptions.
  • Photo optimization tips: For more matches, use solo photos (no groups) for your primary picture, keep backgrounds simple to avoid distractions, and ensure your first line of bio text enhances rather than detracts.
  • Profile visibility matters: To appear as someone's Secret Admirer, ensure your profile isn't set to hidden mode in your account settings.
  • Eye contact counts: Photos where you're looking directly at the camera create stronger connections with potential matches.

Tinder Secret Admirer is a game that pops up periodically as you use the app. In a bid to break up the monotony of swiping, Tinder presents you with a card containing 4 hidden profiles.

The object of the game is guessing which one “liked” your profile. In other words, one of the choices is your Tinder secret admirer.

Keep reading for all the details!

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How Tinder’s Secret Admirer Works

This isn’t a game you can play on demand. For most users, it typically pops up when you’re 10 to 15 swipes into a new session. You’ll only see it once a day, if that.

When you select one of the hidden profiles, Tinder reveals if this is the Secret Admirer who already swiped right and Liked you.

Tinder Secret Admirer match

You can then swipe right for an instant match, or tap the info icon to check out their profile. To pass on the match, simply swipe left.

If you guess incorrectly, you can still swipe right if you’re interested once the profile is revealed. It just won’t be an instant match.

Now, if you’re curious how to get shown as a Secret Admirer on Tinder, the answer is simple. Make sure your account settings are not set to hide your profile. No one is seeing your profile if it’s hidden, and the game only works when people can swipe right on you. 

Is Secret Admirer Similar To Tinder’s ‘Likes You’ Feature? 

Secret Admirer is a way for Tinder to promote their paid subscriptions. At the end of the game, you’ll get a pop-up asking if you want to unlock all of your Secret Admirers by getting access to your “Likes You” feed.

That’s where you can instantly match with any profile you see, and it’s a feature included with Tinder Gold and Tinder Platinum.

3 Ways To Get More Right Swipes On Your Tinder Pic

Tinder is all about the photos, even more so when yours is highlighted as a Secret Admirer. If the impression your profile photo makes right off the bat isn’t favorable, your match rate will suffer.

How do we know? Simple:

Our team of modern dating experts has logged thousands and thousands of hours on Tinder, optimizing profiles, swiping, and messaging on behalf of the clients we represent online. And we keep track of *everything* - so we know what works and what doesn't.

Our Ultimate Guide To Tinder is packed with all the expert photo, profile and messaging advice you need to move things off the app with your hottest matches. So add that to your reading list, but for now here are 3 expert Tinder photo tips!

#1: Fly Solo

Group shots aren’t ideal as a primary Tinder photo, because who’s got the time or inclination to figure out which person is you? And guessing games are even more annoying in the context of the Secret Admirer feature.

Example of why a group shot as the primary photo doesn't work as well.

For that all-important #1 profile photo, choose one where you’re the only one in it. Headshot proportions, where it’s cropped to show just your upper body and head, generally look best.

Using an image where you’re also making strong eye contact with the camera also increases the odds of making an instant connection. Sunglasses tend to have the opposite effect, so save those for further on in your lineup.

#2: Do A Background Check

When it comes to your primary photo, it’s not just about how you look. Your potential matches are noting all kinds of details, including what’s going on in the background. 

It’s a process called ‘thin slicing’ that happens subconsciously, and in mere seconds. Everything visible in the frame comes together to inform her first impression, and that’s largely going to determine which way that swipe is going.

Research has proven that less background noise makes for more appealing photos. To put it simply, the less your brain has to work to understand what’s going on in an image, the more you will like it.

Example of a Tinder primary photo with a distracting background.

A simple photo works far better for a primary pic. Anything that distracts her focus away from you is not ideal.

#3: Mind The Lines

Photos are the most important aspect of your Tinder profile. But your bio is emblazoned across the bottom of it, so she’s definitely going to at least glance at it. A bio that makes her cringe could quickly extinguish any spark she got from your primary pic.

Example of a Tinder bio that isn't very compelling because he describes himself as bored.

Every line in your bio needs to support the overall goal: making you seem like someone she wants to meet. And that’s doubly important for the portion of the text that displays on your primary photo, which is usually the first paragraph or so.

Example of a Tinder bio that has very compelling lines in it.

See the difference a great bio makes?

For more examples, check out these attractive Tinder bio ideas!

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Matchmaker Scott Valdez
Written by
Scott Valdez
Scott Valdez is one of the dating industry's most innovative leaders, with his expertise featured in outlets like The New York Times, Men's Health, and The Washington Post.

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