Tinder and visual identity: a UOC study reveals the nine types of user profile photos

Choosing a Tinder profile picture seems like a free, personal and creative act. But to what extent is that true? A new study developed by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) reveals that, far from being unique, most users opt for one of a very limited number of visual strategies. The research, conducted by Alejandro García Alamán, a member of the CIRCLE Lab and course instructor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, identifies nine standardized types of profile that are systematically repeated on these kinds of platforms.

The study, based on an analysis of 1,000 real Tinder profiles in the Barcelona area, was published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine and combines psychological methods with data analysis and machine-learning techniques. "Talking to my patients in the office, I detected a growing unease among users of dating apps, similar to burnout at work. And it was this combination of disappointment, boredom and depersonalization, because all Tinder profiles were alike, that led me to investigate what was going on," said psychologist García Alamán.

The team, which also included Adrián Montesano, another researcher in the UOC's CIRCLE Lab, which is affiliated to the eHealth Centre, analysed how Tinder users present themselves through their profile pictures and detected a high degree of stereotyping that fitted into nine characteristic visual patterns. The one a person chooses depends, to a large extent, on factors such as age, gender and sexual orientation.

The nine ways to present yourself

The researchers used a visual variable coding process and a clustering algorithm to identify nine clearly differentiated visual patterns. These patterns do not describe people, but strategies for how they present themselves. The first and most frequent is a half-length portrait facing the camera, which accounts for almost a quarter of the profiles analysed. The person is dressed, looking directly at the camera in an urban or domestic environment. This is the most neutral and socially acceptable presentation.

The second profile corresponds to people who appear looking in a different direction. These photographs seem more spontaneous and convey informality and a certain distance. In them the body can be shown partially or totally. The third cluster comprises people presented with a close-up of the face, usually looking at the camera and often in indoor settings. The fourth profile is a full-length portrait looking at the camera. It shows the full body, usually dressed, and is especially common among heterosexual women.

The detailed nature of the classification system can be seen in the fifth group: users with sunglasses. This element, which might seem secondary, appears so consistently that it forms a pattern in itself and, according to the authors, functions as a form of protection and partial concealment. The sixth profile corresponds to people photographed surrounded by nature, such as mountains or forests. It's a strategy that is especially common among heterosexual men and conveys activity, health and a connection with nature.

The next corresponds to profiles where there is a high degree of nudity or semi-nudity. These are photographs where the body has a clear role, often in domestic or beach settings and accounts for 7% of users. At the opposite extreme, the eighth group are users who choose to use images of landscapes, objects or neutral backgrounds rather than their own image. This strategy clearly increases with age. Users in the last group use images of parts of the body, without showing their face. This is the least frequent profile (3%), but also the most extreme in terms of exposing the body.

What factors determine how we present ourselves?

The researchers argue that these presentation strategies do not reflect who we are as much as who we think we should be in order to be liked. "Choosing a strategy based on social desirability strips us of authenticity and blurs our identity as individuals. It protects us, but at the same time it stereotypes us," said García Alamán.

The results suggest that age is the factor that has the most predictive weight in profile pictures. "This is due to how we manage exposure of the body and how the effects of the passage of time are disguised as we get older," he explained. Young people expose themselves much more, while in older groups there is a progressive concealment: first with sunglasses, close-ups or photos of part of the body and, from the age of 50, directly without photos of the body.

Gender and sexual orientation also have an influence, albeit to a lesser extent. Among heterosexual profiles, women smile more and appear with less clothing, showing more of their whole body, while men are more action-oriented or nature-oriented and show less of their bodies. The results also reveal that lesbian women show less of their bodies and smile less than heterosexuals, while gay men look at the camera and smile more than heterosexuals.

Dismantling the myth of nudity

The researchers used a computer system to analyse thousands of Tinder profile images and encoded certain variables with their corresponding values. From the data compiled, the optimal number of resulting patterns was calculated and, finally, a classification algorithm based on minimum distances grouped the samples in each cluster to analyse their consistency. "It is a method widely used in market research and also in psychology and medicine," they explained.

The results showed that only 10% of users have profile pictures with a substantial degree of nudity. "You might say that it's not as many as you'd expect from an app designed for sexual relationships, but that's not what Tinder is. Despite its reputation, it is more of a multi-purpose platform. You also have to remember that people may exercise a degree of caution when showing themselves, even if their intentions are sexual, because they can remove your profile if you are too explicit," said García Alamán.

Tips for using platforms with greater awareness

The team pointed out that, although dating apps give the impression of letting us choose freely, in reality users move within fairly limited visual conventions. "Understanding this can help people to use them with greater awareness and feel less pressure: your profile should not define you, nor should the app affect your self-esteem," said García Alamán. He recommends users not worry excessively about whether their profile is similar to others, as this is common and doesn't necessarily mean they will lose out. "Another piece of advice is to be clear that the first person who has to like a profile picture is you; you shouldn't be afraid to deviate from what everyone else is doing and be a bit more authentic."

Following the publication of this study, the researchers at the CIRCLE Lab are now working on analysing whether the patterns identified in visual profiles are reflected in Tinder users' written bios and determining whether the patterns we use when we seek love online are even more pervasive than we think.

The study aligns with the UOC's research missions on Digital transition and sustainability, Ethical and human-centred technology and Planetary health and well-being, and contributes to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, especially 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 5 (Gender Equality) and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).

Reference article

García-Alamán, Alejandro, Blanco-Cuaresma, Sergi, & Montesano, Adrián. Stereotypical love: a cluster analysis of self-presentation strategies in tinder profile pictures, The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Volume 22, Issue 11, November 2025, pp. 2082–2095, https://doi.org/10.1093/jsxmed/qdaf245

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