Tinder Sets The Record Straight About Whether Someone Can Tell You Blocked Them

You match with a cutie on Tinder. Yay! They send you a message. Woohoo! They ask if you like whales because, if so, you two should go hump back at their place. ...Um, bye. From cheesy pickup lines to totally creepy come-ons, there may be a variety of reasons why you're not feeling a Tinder match. You can tell them you're not interested, but if they are not to be deterred, then sometimes your only option is to block that bothersome match. But here's what you're probably wondering: Can you see if you're blocked on Tinder? After all, you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings — you simply want to be left alone.

I reached out to a Tinder spokesperson to ask how blocking works on Tinder, and I was told that your match will never be notified if they've been unmatched (which is Tinder-speak for "blocking"). "We take the safety and privacy of our users seriously," the spokesperson says, "and the person you unmatched will not be notified that you've done so." So go ahead and block away — Tinder won't tattle on you. Likewise, if you ever get unmatched (though I'm hoping that doesn't happen!), Tinder won’t draw your attention to it, which is probably for the best.

So how do you block someone on Tinder? According to Tinder's spokesperson, it's pretty simple. "Unmatching on Tinder is straightforward and easy to do — just tap the flag in the top right-hand corner of your screen when you're messaging the person you want to unmatch," they explain. If you're using an Android, you'll want to look out for an ellipses icon rather than a red flag, which only appears on IOS devices.

Once you choose unmatch, Tinder will prompt you to provide the reason why you want to unmatch from this individual. Are they sending you inappropriate messages? Inappropriate photos? Spam? Something else? You can also always select "no reason," because if someone is making you uneasy, you don't necessarily need a reason to want that person as far away from your Tinder profile as possible.

You should know that that, though your match will never actually receive any written indication that you've intentionally X-ed them out of your life, they may be able to figure it out. Just as social media indicates when you've been blocked (albeit in subtle ways), whenever you unmatch someone on Tinder, you’ll be removed from each other's match lists and you won’t be able to message each other anymore. It's basically like disappearing into thin air, which may just confuse your match, but it also may tip them off as to what really happened. Not the end of the world, but still something to keep in mind.

Also, according to Tinder's FAQ page, unmatching is a permanent action. If you unmatch someone, your conversation with them disappears. Your profiles will also never appear for the other person while either of you are swiping. If you accidentally unmatch someone, there's no getting that match back, so make sure you really mean it.

If a match is making you super uncomfortable and you worry not only for yourself, but for that person's other potential matches, you can take more drastic measures. Rather than simply unmatching, consider reporting that person instead and bringing their activity to Tinder's attention. To report someone, tap the same red flag or ellipses icon you would if you wanted to unmatch a user. Rather than unmatch, select "Report [NAME]." Again, you'll be prompted to provide a reason, and you can tell Tinder whatever you'd like them to know about the individual in question.

Happy swiping friends, and remember: Don't feel guilty if you're tempted to select that "unmatch" option. You'll be given peace of mind, and — best of all — your match doesn't even have to know about it.