These are the 7 Tinder mistakes you may be making without realizing

1. Your photos aren't up to scratch

At the end of the day, you have to be physically attracted to someone in order to take a chance on them. So, in light of this notion, your photos need to be good. If your pictures look like they have been taken on a potato, you have loads of group photos, or you have photos with kids and no explanation of who they are, they're not going to cut the mustard. Make sure your pictures are not only aesthetically pleasing but that they give a clear indication of who you are and what you're about.

In this Instagram-obsessed generation, we're fascinated by visuals, so make 'em strong.

2. Your bio length

Listen, none of us like writing about ourselves; but if you literally don't put a single word in your bio, how are people meant to form an opinion on whether they want to chat to you or not? While no one wants the next instalment of Harry Potter to read through when they're in the midst of a swiping frenzy, they also don't want to enter a conversation blindly. List some likes and dislikes (although not too many) and give some indicators of good conversation starters.

3. Your bio is cringe-worthy

I'm not going to lie, this mainly applies to us males. For some unbeknownst reason, a lot of gents seem to think that dad (or dirty) jokes are the key to a Tinder bio. Sorry to break it to you 'bro', but no one cares about how long, or short, your love length is, no one wants to read your 'reviews' and if you're writing your bio in the third person, then I'm afraid that 'Scott Hawkins has no chance of ever hooking up with someone through Tinder'. Soz.

4. Your chat is awful

Firstly, well done you for getting this far. By getting to the chatting stage, your bio is obviously of a high enough standard to be deemed as acceptable. However, the amount of people that fall short when it comes to the actual chat is simply stunning. Your opening few exchanges are key, so don't appear and just say 'Hi,' or talk about how much you would love to lick peanut butter off their body.

Take your time, look at their photos or bio and open the chat with something for them to respond to, like: "Your second photo is incredible, where was it taken?" Or, if you want the key to my heart "I love Frank Ocean too, what's your fav song?"

5. You're lying about yourself

We've all got things we don't love about ourselves, but that's what makes us who we are. By lying about yourself, you're setting yourself up for failure when you do finally meet. While you may hate your job or some other aspect of your life, use it to formulate a funny conversation. If you're a struggling writer who works in a pub, don't call yourself a 'freelancer'. Be open about who you are, if someone doesn't like you because you're two inches too short or don't have a trendy job, they're not worth your time anyway.

6. Your swipe tactic isn't working

While we're all guilty of swiping right too much in order to land a ton of matches and boost our confidence, being too picky is just as bad as well. Why not try swiping on those people who may not be exactly what you're after, but took your interest all the same. After all, you literally know nothing about these people and what's the worst that's going to happen? The same goes to you 'serial swipers', stop liking people if you have no intention of meeting them. Basically, swipe right on those people who you find interesting and attractive. That's the whole point of Tinder.

7. You're too shy

On paper, Tinder is a shy person's dream: it allows you to interact with people without the pressures of approaching at the bar or in the street. However, a lot of users are too shy to message first out of fear of being rejected. To those people, I say 'get a f***ing grip'. I am, of course, joking. But seriously, just message them! You have nothing to lose and if they don't respond, then you just move on to the next one - it's that simple.