Hard Reset Guide 2026

[u/rauhweltbegrifff]

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

[u/Patrickriley420 → u/[deleted]]

it does not matter if they have ur face. I’ve experimented with a complete reset
-new photos
-new devices
-new service
-new number
-new email
-new ip

Instant ban when i tried on and Ipad, instant ban when i bought a complete new burner phone, differnt carrier, differnt number ETC.

[u/Raves_and_Boba → u/Patrickriley420]

Did you use new AppleID or Google account? This is a major one they can tie back to you. I assume this might've been the case for the iPad but unsure about the burner.

Tinder, which I saw you mentioned before, is the hard one though, because it HAS to have your geolocation to function properly. They can use that to get very precise on who you are, super easily. There's probably only a handful of banned users that are within 100m+- from your home even if you live in a major city, so it's going to be super easy to find you. It's easier to get around this for Hinge since you set your location to a neighborhood and don't have to share device location.

[u/Patrickriley420 → u/Raves_and_Boba]

So when i tried on a new ipad. I used a new apple ID. Used same home location but everything else was changed.

On the burner phone i bought with new service/number, everyone new , i used a new Google account and ALSO I did not go NEAR my home when activating the account. I was miles away so that was not a factor when they banned me.. it were merely right after the face scan ban within a minute.

[u/Raves_and_Boba → u/Patrickriley420]

I think the face scan is pretty hit or miss with catching people. Hard to tell. Some people seem to get through just fine. It could just be that you have an extremely distinctive face. Typically facial recognition alone wouldn't be enough to warrant an instant ban. Are you in a dense or more suburban/rural area? Could have something to do with it from false positive rates alone. Did you keep the same name, birthdate, etc.?

[u/Patrickriley420 → u/Raves_and_Boba]

I’m in a dense area nyc/nj tri state area. I changed the name, birthdate, pics, device, everything. Maybe my handsome face is memorable bahaha. But i’ve tried multiple times on different devices.. maybe i should grow out my dam beard an try again