Everyone has seen the Top Picks feature on Tinder, but few people use it to their advantage. If you’re not sure what are Top Picks on Tinder or how to use them properly, you can find out in our comprehensive guide.
Top picks on Tinder are the users deemed to be more compatible with you. They’re curated daily based on your swiping habits and the information in your profile.
This means you can focus your efforts on who the Tinder algorithm thinks you’ll like best, rather than swiping through users one-by-one searching for your perfect match.
That’s the elevator pitch…
But if you’re interested to learn more about what do Top Picks mean on Tinder, read on for our full review of this feature.
What Are Top Picks on Tinder?
The Top Picks feature was added to Tinder in 2018. You can access it by pressing the gold or platinum flame icon toward the top of the screen.
This icon will take you to a different page of the Tinder app, highlighting a selection of users that Tinder has deemed as the most suitable for you.
You can choose to swipe left, right, or Super Like these profiles, just as you would on the profiles in the normal Tinder pack. Tapping on the profile picture will allow you to see the user’s full bio, just as it does in the normal pack. So, the only real difference is that you can access these profiles deemed “most suitable” for you without having to swipe one-by-one on other supposedly less suitable users first. Your Top Picks will remain available for 24 hours, after which a new set of Top Picks will be generated for you.
Basic users and Tinder Plus users can swipe right on one Top Pick per day. Tinder Gold and Tinder Platinum users can swipe right on up to ten per day. It is possible to buy more packs of 10, 20, or 30 Top Picks if you wish. (Yes, Tinder has really turned people into in-app purchases that you can buy). These extra Top Picks would have to be used within 24 hours of your purchase before they reset again.
Some Top Picks include a small badge with a one-word explanation explaining why they’ve been chosen for you. The badge might say ‘Athlete’, ‘Foodie’, ‘Scholar’, or some other adjective to explain their personality type.
It’s worth mentioning that your Top Picks are also waiting in the normal Tinder pack for you. They should appear there if you swipe for long enough.
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How Are Tinder Top Picks Chosen?
Most online dating companies are incredibly secretive about how their algorithms work, and Tinder is no different.
Tinder has released no official guidance about how Top Picks are chosen.
It has been suggested that Top Picks are tailored exclusively for the individual user based on the information in their bio and their swiping history.
Upon its release, Tinder Chief Product Officer Brian Norgard said: ”Picks delivers a personalized, premium user experience within Tinder Gold that puts a spotlight on unique characteristics that make our users stand out.”
However, we can only speculate about what that means or how the feature works in practice.
If I was a doctor who only swiped right on nurses, would my Top Picks be populated entirely by medical professionals? We can only speculate.
Having tested the feature myself, I would estimate that the Top Picks algorithm isn’t even as intelligent as that.
I’ve noticed that a lot of my Top Picks tend to share one or more of the ‘Passions’ listed in my Tinder bio. As a writer, I’m occasionally recommended other women with a passion for literacy - and they’ll appear with a ‘Scholar’ badge. But there are plenty of women who appear in my Top Picks for seemingly no reason other than being very pretty.
Indeed, if there’s one thing that’s obvious about Top Picks, it’s that only the most traditionally good-looking people are chosen for it. Tinder tracks its users’ like ratios and I’m sure those with a low rating aren’t appearing in anyone’s Top Picks, regardless of compatibility.
But again, we can only speculate...
Can I Become a Tinder Top Pick?
Tinder hasn’t published any official guidance about how to become a Top Pick.
Based on the information above, it’s fair to suggest that you should fill out your bio with as much information about yourself as possible. This will give the Tinder algorithm more data to figure out who you’d be most compatible with.
It’s also fair to assume that your profile should be visible to all users if you want to be a Top Pick. You probably won’t be chosen if you’re anonymous. Perhaps you could experiment with adding keywords that people are likely to swipe right on, like “model” or “athlete”, for example...
But I’d imagine the best way to become a Top Pick is to create an attractive profile that is swiped right on and Super Liked by lots of people. Being a highly active user will probably help too.
After all, Tinder wants its premium features to deliver a satisfying experience for its paid users. If they’re recommended a dud profile that no one else likes for their Top Picks, these users are more likely to be put off and stop using the app.
For this same reason, the most right-swiped users tend to appear at the top of the normal pack.
Do Tinder Top Picks Know They’re Top Picks?
No, there’s no way for Tinder users to know they’ve been selected as a Top Pick. They won’t receive a notification from the app or anything of that nature.
If someone appears in your Top Picks, there’s no guarantee that you’re one of theirs, although that would arguably make the feature better. (That’s how EHarmony matches people and it’s the world’s number-one dating website for matching spouses).
The only way to know for sure that you’ve been chosen as a Top Pick is if someone tells you or sends you a screenshot.
Even though that could make an interesting conversation starter I wouldn’t recommend telling anyone that they were your ‘Top Pick’. It’s smoother to play it cool in this situation. Their ego is probably already swollen from all the attention they’re getting on the app.
Are Top Picks Worth Paying For?
Top Picks was likely introduced in response to the common complaint that Tinder is too image-focused and doesn’t put enough emphasis on personality.
This feature does allow Tinder advocates to clap back against these criticisms. It’s a nice feature for Gold and Platinum users to have, especially those who don’t want to waste time swiping through hundreds of users per day.
But is it worth paying the monthly subscription costs to access this feature? Not on its own.
Tinder Gold and Tinder Platinum have a lot of features that will increase your reach and allow you to attract more matches. These features - such as unlimited Likes, free Boosts, Super Likes, and Likes You - are valuable for that reason. You can learn more about these features in our full Tinder review.
Top Picks isn’t as useful as these aforementioned features. It’s a nice added bonus, rather than a reason to upgrade to Gold or Platinum. There wouldn’t appear to be any mind-blowing algorithmic science behind your choice of Top Picks, as there is on the likes of EHarmony. Those who aren’t sold on upgrading won’t be convinced after learning what do Top Picks mean on Tinder.
Theoretically, you should be able to find all your Top Picks by swiping through the pack normally. It’s not as if these are paywalled women that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to find.
Their feature is unlikely to land you any more matches unless you become a Top Pick yourself. It’s also worth mentioning that the women who appear in your Top Picks are probably already overwhelmed with matches. You’ll still need to have a great profile to attract their interest and secure a match.
I certainly wouldn’t recommend paying for additional packs of Top Picks, as you’ll be given more for free every day. Plus, all of these users can be found somewhere in the normal Tinder pack too.
I wouldn’t even pay to become a Top Pick, as there’s no evidence that this feature is heavily used by women at all.
Ultimately then, this feature is nothing more than a gimmick that allows Tinder executives to suggest that the app considers its users’ personalities.
Treat it like the little bit of fun that it is.
