How To Get 10x More Views On Your Tinder Profile

For all you Tinderellas and fellas who are eager for more matches, the app's new feature Tinder Boost might just be what you've been waiting for. Instead of sitting back and hoping for the best, this new feature lets you take the initiative and "put yourself first" so more potential matches are shown your profile for a limited time. More and more dating apps have been introducing paid features, which is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it's worthwhile to have a bevy of cool features that can help us make the most of the time we spend on dating apps. On the other hand, I'm sure all my fellow student-loan-ridden Millennials can agree that budgeting is hard enough without another added temptation (thanks, Tinder).

So how does this new paid feature work exactly? Tinder Boost — which is currently being tested in Australia — allows users to purchase a boost anytime while in Tinder swiping mode (aka not while using Tinder Social). For 30 minutes, yours will be one of the 'top profiles' in the area, meaning you'll show up toward the front of others' queues of matches.

According to the press release about the new feature, this could result in you getting up to 10 times the views you might normally get on your profile. Unfortunately, the prices aren't exactly super cheap, considering you only get half an hour per boost. The Tech Times reports that one boost is $6, a bundle of five is $24, and 10 boosts comes out to $36. The good news? If you opt to pay for Tinder Plus, you get one free boost per week, and can buy as many additional boosts as you'd like.

Though it's not a guaranteed way to instantly find love (or whatever you're looking for) online, it's certainly nice to have the option to pay a little extra to get more eyes on your six carefully chosen profile pictures and that short bio you agonized over for hours. If you're an avid user of other Tinder-like dating apps (I know I am), here are eight more features that let you hack the system and make the most out of your online dating experience. Happy swiping!

1. Send Charms On Happn

Happn shows you people you crossed paths with — aka people you likely live or work near — which makes it convenient to set up a future date. However, it's not a traditional swiping app: people's profiles appear in a top-down format that you continuously scroll through, with the most recent people you come across at the top.

It can be a real chore to sift through all those people and find someone you actually like, and even then, it can be easy to miss people. But if you 'like' someone and don't immediately match, you can send a Charm so they'll get a push notification letting them know you're interested. It's a handy feature, but it also costs you: It's $1.99 for 10 Charm credits, or you can buy in bulk, if that's your thing.

2. Boost Your OkCupid Profile

Tinder's not the first dating app to let you boost yourself ahead of the rest: OkCupid has had a similar feature for quite a while now. It's actually a lot cheaper, too — one boost is only $1.99. To be fair, OKC's boosts only last 15 minutes compared to Tinder's half-hour, but that still makes the price two-thirds the cost of what Tinder is charging. This is a quick and easy way to "step into the spotlight" and ensure that more members are exposed to the wonder and wit of your profile.

3. Join OKC's A-List

To be honest, OkCupid's paid version, A-list, has so many nifty advantages that it's hard to resist opting in. Here's a breakdown of what the 'basic' A-list (only $4.95/month if you buy a six-month subscription) offers: advanced searching, invisible browsing, no ads, message filters and read receipts, increased message storage, and the ability to change your username, see who's liked your profile, and see your reply chances before messaging someone.

As if that weren't enough, there's an A-list Premium — but it's a hefty $19.90/month for a six-month subscription. Price tag notwithstanding, it comes with some serious perks in addition to all the basic A-list advantages. You get an automatic daily boost, increased 'attractiveness' (which means you see and are seen by more attractive matches), your messages automatically float to the top of people's inboxes, and you can see people's answers to questions before you've answered them yourself. When all is said and done, OkCupid's paid features offer you tons of ways to get ahead of the online dating game, and is well worth the money if you're serious about finding love.

4. Reject Rejection With Beeline On Bumble

Much like Tinder Plus, Bumble recently introduced a paid version ($9.99/month) of the app called BumbleBoost, which has a handful of nifty new features that can elevate your experience. One called Beeline lets users pre-populate a queue of people who have already “liked” them, meaning there's no more half-second of dread while you pray it's a match. Sure, it kills a little bit of the suspense and intrigue intrinsic to dating apps, but it also means that (for a small price) you no longer have to worry about the horrible feeling of rejection!

5. Buy More Time On Bumble

Another cool feature of BumbleBoost is called Busy Bee, which lets you extend the 24-hour window you typically get to match with someone. If you come across someone you like but they have yet to like your profile (maybe because they're a Busy Bee... get it?), you can opt to stay in their queue of matches for a little bit longer in hopes they'll throw a like your way. Or if you've already matched with someone but want more time to strike up a convo, the Rematch feature lets you keep 'expired' matches in your queue so you can try again later.

6. 'Take' Who You Like On Coffee Meets Bagel

Coffee Meets Bagel's new model works like so (for heterosexual users — I can't speak for its LGBT user experience): men make the first move and either pass or like women's profiles, then women are shown profiles of those men who've already liked them and either pass them up or opt to connect. Obviously, minimizing the feeling of rejection seems to be a huge trend on dating apps right now. But if you want even more options, there's also a 'Discover' tab where you can browse other profiles you might be interested in and 'take' the ones you like in exchange for Coffee Beans. You can either buy beans (3,000 are $24.99) or earn them by sharing things on social media, inviting users, or passing or liking profiles each day.

7. 'Super Like' People On Tinder

Super Likes on Tinder are an easy way to give yourself a helping hand. Sure, you might worry that it makes you seem thirsty, but if you find someone you just have to meet, it can't hurt to show your sincere interest (and boost their ego) by throwing them a quick Super Like. Regular users get one per day, but Tinder Plus users get five, so it might be worth your money to spend the $9.99/month on the paid version of the app (which has lots of other helpful features, too).

8. Make A Power Move On The League

For users of The League — a dating app for the well-educated and ambitious — you can pay $7 to 'hack' the app's algorithm and increase your chance of getting matched. It helps you skip to the front of someone's waitlist and even lets you send a custom message. The app also tells you exactly how many people are 'ahead' of you in line, which makes the Power Move all the more tempting. Again, it's just another bold way to show initiative and prove to someone your interest is genuine.

Images: Fotolia; Tinder (2); Apple App Store (2); Laken Howard/Bustle (4); The League