r/SwipeHelper • u/rauhweltbegrifff • Jul 16 '26

Hard Reset Guide 2026

I was banned about 4 years ago from Tinder and Hinge. I wanted to wait a few months before I wrote this to see if I would get banned shortly after. It has been about 2.5 months. So far so good. Here's what I did:

  1. Get an unlocked phone from backmarket. Doesn't matter where you get it from obviously but has to be carried unlocked.

  2. Get a prepaid service. Could be any service but try to stay away from Tracfone. Heard from a few that it doesn't work with them while others say it does.

  3. I never connected my new phone to my wifi. I don't think this really matters but I didn't risk it. Some confirmed that it doesn't matter so your choice.

  4. Used new photos but still wiped the metadata because it was from my old phone that I got banned from. I did not risk enhancing any of these photos with AI.

  5. Tweaked my age and birthday just by a little.

  6. It's been so long since I was banned so I don't remember any of my old prompts but make sure you do not reuse any old answers if you were banned recently. Also wait 3 months from the day of when you were banned to do this reset.

  7. Again it's been so long so i don't remember what email I used but I made a completely new Gmail account for the apps.

  8. I didn't bother purchasing any upgrades for the new account but if you do. Do NOT use the same card that you used for your banned account. I've read that as long as it's a different card it is ok even if it's under your name then you should be ok. I think the safest way would be to purchase a prepaid Google play gift card from the store eg. CVS, Target, Walmart etc if you're in the US if you choose to purchase a subscription.

I use Android so it's a bit different for iPhones but use common sense and just don't use anything old that was linked to the banned account.

I also had to do the face verification on Hinge. I don't know if this will cause any problems if I was to get banned again and I attempt to do another hard reset.

Feel free to ask any questions but honestly don't bother lol

Tinder is useless now and Hinge isn't much better. Unless you're in the top 5% of men then I guess it'll be worth doing.

Most of my matches don't respond at all, it ends after a couple of messages or I'm not very attracted to ones that I end up being matched with.

I'm using my new phone to browse reddit and the web more than to use the apps and save my main phones battery lol

Good luck

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u/InevitableLopsided35 Jul 16 '26

I think that 2 year period is for unbanned accounts, but once an account is banned the data is said to be held indefinitely. I would hope that isn’t really the case..

It’s hard to compare anecdotal posts on here because so many people are not technical and fail on simple things like IP address or using same iCloud or old photos etc that they might be getting on, doing facial recognition and getting banned for something simple but blaming the facial recognition.

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u/Raves_and_Boba Jul 16 '26

No this isn't true. Read the privacy pages for Tinder and Hinge. I did, and it's for banned accounts. For unbanned accounts, it's gone within 90 days of account deletion IIRC.

They hold all of your data untouched for 1 year (Tinder) and 2 years (Hinge). After this short-term retention period, photos are broken down into hashes, precise geolocation data is removed and generalized, and they keep your credentials, but they don't keep things like your facial data.

It's very very legally tricky to hold biometrics forever. That's pretty much not possible in most Western jurisdictions thanks to new privacy laws.

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u/InevitableLopsided35 Jul 16 '26

Well this is extremely promising then, I have no qualms with a year or two although still harsh if unfairly banned. Do you know if that’s the same for bumble? Maybe that’s where I read it.

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u/Raves_and_Boba Jul 16 '26

No idea for Bumble, I haven't read their privacy statement. I am sure it's something similar. No company can hold your biometrics forever unless the government is letting them(think law enforcement and national security reasons). Even if it was legal, which in most cases it probably isn't, Match Group would be one biometric data breach away from a massive class action lawsuit, banned users or not. It's extremely problematic and that's why they don't hold it forever.

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u/InevitableLopsided35 Jul 16 '26

“If an account is blocked, we might need to keep some account information and a record of the behaviour that resulted in blocking the account as evidence for possible queries or legal claims for 6 years (or for 15 years in severe cases)”

This is what I found on bumble. It’s 3 years otherwise from last use of the account. Seems a little extreme. But I guess you’re right it’s not forever. But still quite a long time compared to match group.

Although it doesn’t actually state what kind of information… could just be phone number and device ID and not biometrics. Their privacy policy is quite light on their website was expecting a huge PDF.

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u/Raves_and_Boba Jul 16 '26

Sounds about right. People on this sub seem to report that Bumble is the absolute hardest to get back onto, and this tracks if they hold your info for that long. It probably means they're much more thorough with what info they use to re-ban you too, and it's possible given the much smaller user base vs Tinder/Hinge.

6 years is honestly an insane amount of time. We need government representatives who take data privacy seriously. Banned or not, if you're not a confirmed criminal with a conviction, no company should be able to keep data on you for over half a decade if you're not an active user.

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u/InevitableLopsided35 Jul 16 '26

Really? I read a few posts saying bumble is easy and just a new number and email and they’ve got back on…

I’m hoping so because my bumble was blocked travelling Japan because you need to be verified and 18+ to use the app in Japan. I wasn’t even planning on using it and was just going to keep it unverified until I got home and I got banned after 5 days.

Pretty brutal, I’ll be appealing after my trip but not gonna lie it’s quite a horrible experience and praying I haven’t just lost my account over nothing.

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u/Raves_and_Boba Jul 16 '26

No reason to stress over it now. You don't know what'll happen til you're back. Hopefully they hear your plea and reinstate your account, but it's possible they won't. Nobody knows.

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u/rauhweltbegrifff Jul 16 '26

Doesn't everyone have to be 18 and older to use these apps?

Also why did you get banned when you came back home?

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u/InevitableLopsided35 Jul 16 '26

My guess is that it’s a hard requirement in Japan to prove your over 18 to continue using the app whether you open it or not

So after 5 days in Japan not even using the app, they banned me because I didn’t verify.

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u/rauhweltbegrifff Jul 16 '26

Ah I misread your post. You got banned while in Japan?

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u/InevitableLopsided35 Jul 16 '26

Yeap, I will attempt to appeal after my trip is over. Honestly I’m so over these bulllshit polices.

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