The dating profile is one of the more bizarre human inventions—a curated argument for why a stranger should spend time with you, compressed into a handful of photos and a text box most people fill in with garbage.
The average person spends about seven seconds on a profile before deciding whether to swipe. In that window, the photos carry most of the load—but a new study published in Current Psychology found that how much someone writes in their bio communicates something the photos can’t: whether they’re looking for something serious or just occupying their phone.
Researchers led by Gurit Birnbaum and Harry T. Reis ran three separate experiments presenting participants with dating profiles set at low, moderate, or high levels of self-disclosure—a bare-bones bio, a reasonably fleshed-out one, and one that told you everything. The results held across all three studies. Profiles with a moderate amount of personal information drew the most interest, scored highest on attractiveness, and were most likely to be perceived as belonging to someone looking for a long-term relationship. Fifty-two percent of participants chose them over both the sparse profiles and the overstuffed ones.
Research Found the Perfect Amount of Information to Put in Your Dating Profile
The empty profile is a problem. A bio that says nothing—and these do exist—gets interpreted as evasive, unserious, or concealing something, according to the researchers. “A sparse profile can suggest low effort, guardedness, or little interest in commitment,” noted Psychology Today’s coverage of the study. It’s the dating app equivalent of showing up to a job interview and refusing to answer questions.
Oversharing has its own consequences. A bio that lays out past trauma, attachment style, and love language preferences before anyone has agreed to coffee is not transparency—it’s a massive red flag. The study found that excessive disclosure exposes incompatibilities before there’s even a conversation to have, and overwhelms people who were just looking for a reason to swipe right. Save something for the date.
The study also found that self-disclosure can override what someone explicitly states about their intentions. Profiles that said the person was looking for something casual but contained detailed personal information still attracted more long-term interest than low-disclosure casual profiles. Apparently, if you write enough about yourself, people will decide you want commitment whether you said so or not. The information volume speaks louder than the stated goal.
A 2022 PLOS ONE study found that originality in profile text performed as well as disclosure level in attracting interest. Profiles that said something unexpected did better than ones following the standard script. Most people’s bios are interchangeable. That’s the problem and the opportunity simultaneously.
The formula, such as it is: enough to show investment, enough to generate curiosity, not so much that there’s nothing to talk about on the first date.
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