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AI Knows Best? Tinder Wants You to Let AI Pick the Best Profile Photos

Tinder's new Photo Selector tool uses AI to find the most appealing pictures for your profile.

Headshot of Katelyn Chedraoui
Headshot of Katelyn Chedraoui
Katelyn Chedraoui Writer I
Katelyn is a writer with CNET covering artificial intelligence, including chatbots, image and video generators. Her work explores how new AI technology is infiltrating our lives, shaping the content we consume on social media and affecting the people behind the screens. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in media and journalism. You can reach her at kchedraoui@cnet.com.
Expertise artificial intelligence, AI image generators, social media platforms
Katelyn Chedraoui
2 min read
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Sarah Tew/CNET

It's time to say goodbye to blurry mirror selfies. Tinder's newest feature is Photo Selector, an AI-powered tool that scans your camera roll for the most Tinder-worthy shots for your profile, the company announced Wednesday. Photo Selector is available now for all US Tinder users. 

To use the new Photo Selector tool, Tinder will prompt you to take a selfie so it knows what face to look for. Then, you'll need to give Tinder access to your camera roll so it can scan for what it determines to be a good profile image. Tinder didn't say exactly what learnings the AI is using to curate the best images, but it will take things like lighting and composition into consideration. Once Photo Selector has pulled its top choices, you can tap the Why were these suggested? icon to learn a bit more.

The new feature is meant to help reduce some of the extra work and stress that goes into building a profile. Tinder reports that over half of users ages 18 to 32 find it hard to pick a primary profile picture, and 68% of those users would find an AI feature for photo selection assistance helpful.

four screenshots showing how Tinder's AI photo selector tool works

Tinder's new AI tool suggests the best pics for your profile.

 Tinder

What to know about your privacy using Tinder's new AI tool

Tinder says that it does not collect or store users' photos that you choose not to share on your profile. You can revoke Tinder's access to your camera roll after using the photo selector tool by going into your phone's settings, navigating to Tinder and toggling off photo access.

Earlier this year, Tinder upgraded its account verification process to require users to upload a picture of their government-issued ID, like a driver's license or passport, to get its blue check icon. Unlike with the Photo Selector tool, Tinder keeps a redacted version of your ID on file for 30 days, so it can verify your likeness, age and liveness (that you're a real person, not a bot). 

For photos and other information you share on your profile, Tinder's privacy policy says that it may share your profile and account info with advertisers and affiliates. Tinder does not currently have an AI policy about how it trains its models.

Dating apps tend to place users in between a rock and a hard place when it comes to sharing information. Platforms like Tinder push users to share a lot of information so that it has more data to use to find potentially compatible matches. But dating apps are notoriously big targets for cybercriminals looking to steal that personal information, and dating apps are no strangers to dubious data security practices. As new AI tools like Photo Selector begin to roll out and become more common, we'll have to keep an eye on how AI enhances or derails users' safety.

For more, check out our picks for the best dating apps and our guide to staying safe while online dating.