Facebook Dating allows Facebook users to connect with potential romantic matches within their own friend network on Facebook. It is integrated directly into the Facebook app, allowing users to easily set up a dating profile and start browsing potential matches. If you’ve decided you want to take a break from Facebook Dating or start over, you may be wondering if there’s a way to restart or reset it. Here’s what you need to know about restarting Facebook Dating.
Why You Might Want to Restart Facebook Dating
There are a few common reasons why someone might want to restart their Facebook Dating profile and get a fresh start:
- You want to clear out your previous matches and start over with a clean slate.
- You’re looking to revamp your dating profile and change your photos, bio, age range, etc.
- You went inactive on Facebook Dating for a while and matches may have expired.
- You started a relationship from a Facebook Dating match and now you’re single again.
Restarting Facebook Dating essentially gives you a chance to reboot your dating profile and preferences and potentially connect with new, more compatible matches. It’s a good option if you feel like you’ve exhausted the current pool of potential matches or want to present yourself differently to prospective dates.
How to Restart Facebook Dating
Unfortunately, there is no direct way within the Facebook Dating interface to fully reset or restart your profile. However, there are a few workaround steps you can take to essentially give your Facebook Dating presence a fresh start:
- Temporarily disable your Facebook Dating profile. You can do this by going to the Facebook Dating section in your Facebook app and selecting the three horizontal lines menu icon. Choose “Take a Break.” This will hide your dating profile and remove you from being suggested to potential matches.
- Revamp your Facebook profile. Take this opportunity when your dating profile is disabled to make any changes you want to your overall Facebook profile. You may want to change your profile and cover photos, update your bio info, edit your interests, etc. This will give your profile a refreshed look.
- Adjust your dating preferences. When you’re ready to restart Facebook Dating, re-enable your profile and make any desired changes to your dating preferences like age range, distance, gender, and the traits you’re looking for in a potential match.
- Delete previous conversations. Once you return to the Facebook Dating section, you can manually delete any previous conversations you no longer want to re-engage with by swiping left on them.
- Review your potential matches again. Swipe left or right again on potential matches that Facebook suggests to reset those options. New matches may appear since you last used Facebook Dating.
While not a full reset, going through this process will essentially give you a fresh start on Facebook Dating. Your previous matches will no longer see your profile during the break, and when you re-enable it, you’ll have an opportunity to re-swipe potential matches and present yourself differently in your profile details and preferences.
The Pros and Cons of Restarting Facebook Dating
Before taking a break and revamping your Facebook Dating presence, consider these potential pros and cons:
Pros
- Get a fresh start with new potential matches
- Chance to improve your dating profile and photos
- Ability to update your dating preferences
- Start fresh after ending a Facebook Dating relationship
- Temporarily take a break from online dating if needed
Cons
- Lose existing conversations and matches
- Need to re-swipe potential matches that reappear
- May get the same suggested matches again
- Matches may not realize you restarted your profile
Overall, restarting Facebook Dating can be worthwhile if you want a clean slate and fresh start with online dating. But be prepared to put in some effort reconfiguring your profile and rescanning potential matches.
How Often Can You Restart Facebook Dating?
There is no official limit from Facebook on how often you can restart your Facebook Dating profile. You can technically go through the steps to temporarily disable your profile and re-enable it as often as you want to reset your presence.
However, frequently restarting your dating profile may have some drawbacks:
- Potential matches may get frustrated seeing your profile reappear often
- You’ll have to re-swipe previous matches each time you restart
- Constantly changing your profile may confuse or overwhelm matches
- Matches may not realize you restarted your profile and get confused
For best results, it’s recommended to only restart your Facebook Dating profile every few months or so, or when you have a specific reason to want a fresh start. Continually resetting your profile too frequently defeats the purpose and makes it harder to establish connections.
Tips for Restarting Facebook Dating
Here are some tips to make the most of restarting your Facebook Dating experience:
- Update your photos – swap out old photos for new ones that show your interests and personality.
- Craft an engaging bio – share interesting details about yourself that spark conversation.
- Expand your preferences – don’t limit yourself too much on age, distance, etc.
- Re-review your dealbreakers – reconsider any overly picky dealbreakers.
- Change up your prompts/answers – rewrite responses that didn’t work well.
- Pause your profile first – avoid immediately losing existing matches.
- Start fresh conversations – don’t rewrite old convos that fizzled out.
Putting some strategic thought into giving your dating profile a makeover when you restart can help boost your matches and connections.
Should You Delete Your Facebook Dating Profile Entirely?
Rather than restarting your Facebook Dating profile, you may be wondering if you should just delete it altogether. Here’s an overview of what deleting your Facebook Dating profile does:
- Completely removes your profile so you can no longer access Facebook Dating.
- Erases all your Facebook Dating profile info and conversations.
- Stops your profile from being suggested to potential new matches.
- Keeps your main Facebook profile and account active.
- To reactivate, you would need to set up a brand new Facebook Dating profile.
Deleting your profile makes sense if:
- You’ve entered a committed relationship and no longer need Facebook Dating.
- You want to take an extended break from Facebook Dating.
- You prefer using other dating apps.
- You aren’t getting quality matches on Facebook Dating.
However, unlike restarting, deleting your profile means you lose all your previous activity and matches. You won’t be able to access conversations, photos, prompts, event RSVPs, etc. Overall, deleting your profile is best if you want a completely clean break from Facebook Dating vs. just a refresh.
What Happens to Your Profile if You Deactivate Facebook?
If you decide to temporarily deactivate your entire Facebook account, this will automatically pause your Facebook Dating profile as well. While deactivated:
- Your dating profile will not be visible to potential matches.
- You will stop receiving messages and notifications.
- Your profile info and data will be saved.
When you reactivate your Facebook account, your Facebook Dating profile will also become active again automatically. All your profile details, matches, and conversations will still be intact.
Permanently deleting your Facebook account will also permanently delete your Facebook Dating profile and all its data. So deactivating your Facebook is a safer option if you just need a temporary break from all Facebook services including dating.
Can You Recover a Deleted Facebook Dating Profile?
If you permanently deleted your Facebook Dating profile but now regret it, is it possible to recover it? Unfortunately, there is no way to retrieve a deleted Facebook Dating profile.
Once you delete your dating profile, all related data including your profile info, photos, matches, and conversations are permanently erased. Facebook does not store or maintain any copies of deleted dating profiles.
Your only option is to create an entirely new Facebook Dating profile from scratch. You’ll have to set up your preferences again, add new photos, rewrite your bio, etc. And you won’t be able to access any of your past matches or conversations.
So be certain you are ready to have your Facebook Dating presence deleted before confirming the action. If you do change your mind later, there is no going back.
Conclusion
While there is no direct “reset” function on Facebook Dating, you can essentially restart your dating profile by temporarily disabling it, making any desired changes to your Facebook account, then re-enabling it with refined preferences. This allows you to present yourself to matches in a fresh way and potentially connect with new people.
Just be wary of restarting your profile too frequently, as potential matches may get frustrated seeing you constantly re-appear. And permanently deleting your dating profile means losing all your info and conversations forever, with no way to recover anything.
Overall, restarting Facebook Dating can be a useful way to refresh your online dating experience. But approach any major profile changes thoughtfully and strategically for best results. With the right improvements, resetting your dating presence can help boost your matches and connections.