DateableHow to find and delete old dating profiles
Delete old profiles that still have your photos by logging in or asking the site, because they link your new profile to your past.
An old dating profile you have forgotten about is still out there with your photos, and anyone looking for you online can find the connection to your new one. Find it by searching your old usernames and running a reverse image search on your photos, delete it from inside the account, and write to the site's support team if you have lost access. Under Australian privacy law, photos of you are personal information when your identity is clear or could reasonably be worked out 1.
Search for your old profiles first
Before you can delete a profile, you need to find it. Search every old email account for words like "welcome", "verify your email", "new message" and "match". Most sites sent a confirmation email when you signed up, and notification emails for as long as the account was active, so the sender names give you a list of sites.
Make a list of the sites and usernames you remember using. Go through your password manager or notes where you might have saved usernames for old sites. Then put each old username into a search engine in quotation marks, on its own and with the site name. People reuse usernames, and a search often turns up a profile on a site you forgot you joined.
Reverse image search your photos
Old photos of you are the fastest way to find old profiles. Use Google Images, Bing Images or TinEye to search for a photo of yourself. Upload the photos you used on dating sites, not only recent ones, and see where each appears online. The same search also shows whether a scammer has copied your photos onto a fake profile.
Search engines only index public pages, so a profile behind a login may not appear. Treat the results as a start, not a complete list. Write down every site name and link you find, and take a screenshot of each profile before you delete it.
Try to log in and delete directly
Once you have found an old profile, log in if you still have access. Most dating sites have an account settings page with a delete or deactivate option. Click it and follow the steps to remove the profile.
The site might ask you to confirm your choice or offer to temporarily deactivate instead of permanently deleting. Read what the site offers. Permanent deletion removes the profile from public view, but the site may keep some data for legal or fraud reasons. Temporary deactivation hides your profile but keeps your account, so you can reactivate it later if you choose.
Choose permanent deletion. A week later, search the username and run the image search again to check the profile has gone.
If you have lost access to the email or password
If you cannot log in, reset your password through the site. Most sites have a 'Forgot password' link on the login page. Click it and enter the email address you used when you signed up. The site will send you a link to reset your password.
If you no longer have access to that email address, many sites let you verify your identity another way. Check the reset page for an option to verify by phone number or answer a security question you set up when you joined. If the site offers none of these options, move on to contacting support.
Write to support and ask them to delete your profile
If you cannot log in and cannot reset your password, find the support email or contact form on the site. Most dating sites have a help or contact page in the footer.
Write a clear, short message. Say you want to permanently delete your account and profile, give them the email address and username if you can, and ask them to confirm the deletion. Keep this simple:
I want to permanently delete my account. My username is [username] and the email address is [email]. Please confirm once the profile and all photos are removed.
Many sites will ask for more information to confirm your identity, such as the date you joined or the country you listed. Answer what they ask. Keep the reply they send you confirming the deletion. It shows you made the request and when it was done.
Why old profiles matter to your privacy
Photos of you are personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 if your identity is clear or can reasonably be worked out 1. A dating profile adds your age, city and what you are looking for. Your life moves on; the old profile does not.
People who want to find out about you, from new partners to employers to social contacts, can trace your dating history through an old profile. Deleting it removes that link. It also stops scammers from using your photos on a fake profile elsewhere, and stops someone you once met from finding you through a profile you no longer use.
What to do if a site will not delete your profile
Some sites are slow or ask you to prove the old email address is yours. Reply to every request and keep a copy of each message. If they still refuse, read the site's privacy policy: it says how to complain and how long the site keeps data. Quote it back to them:
Your privacy policy says you delete account data on request. I asked on [date] and my profile is still public. Please remove it and all my photos, and confirm in writing.
The OAIC's advice for a photo posted without permission is to ask the person who posted it first, then the website. If an intimate image of you is on a site, eSafety handles image-based abuse complaints 1. This is general information, not advice.
Keep your next dating life separate from the rest of it: a new username, photos you have not used anywhere else, and the steps in protect your privacy. When you are done with Dateable, delete your account: your profile, photos, messages and applications are deleted within 30 days. For more on what your pictures give away, see the photos blog.
Sources
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (2026). Photos and videos.
