Why am I seeing people outside my match preferences?

Preferences guide your results, they do not restrict them

Your match preferences, including distance and age, tell us the kind of people you want to meet. We use them to decide who to show you first and most often, but they are not strict filters — you will see some members outside them anywhere on LDS Singles. This is what the Match Preferences screen means when it says your preferences are not strict.

Where you will notice it most

• Discover is built to show you profiles that do not fully match your selected preferences, such as age or distance. See How does Discover work?
• Liked You shows every member who has liked your profile. Anyone can like you, so these members do not have to match your preferences at all. See How does the 'Liked You' tab work?
• Recommended follows your preferences most closely, but it is still guided by them rather than limited to them.

A smaller pool means more members outside your preferences

When there are not many members who fit your preferences — because your distance or age range is narrow, or because there are fewer members nearby — we show you people beyond those preferences rather than an empty screen.

This has a result that surprises people: narrowing your preferences can lead to seeing more members outside them, not fewer. A tighter range empties your pool faster. If your results look far away or off the mark, try widening your distance and age range — a bigger pool means more of what you actually asked for.

How to update your preferences

See How do I change my location or distance settings? for setting your location and adjusting the Distance slider.

If something still looks wrong

If your results are far outside anything you would expect, contact Customer Support with the preferences you have set, roughly how far outside them the profiles are, and whether you are on the app or the website.

Related articles

• How does Discover work?
• How do I change my location or distance settings?
• How does the 'Liked You' tab work?