Discovery and recommendations

The deck of cards you swipe through comes from a single endpoint.

The recommendation deck šŸŸ¢

GET /v2/recs/core?locale=en&duos=0
ParameterNotes
localeResponse language
duos0 normal recommendations, 1 "Double Date / Duos" mode

Response

{
  "meta": { "status": 200 },
  "data": {
    "results": [
      {
        "type": "user",
        "user": {
          "_id": "5f1cā€¦",
          "name": "ā€¦",
          "birth_date": "ā€¦",
          "bio": "ā€¦",
          "photos": [ { "id": "ā€¦", "url": "ā€¦", "processedFiles": [ ā€¦ ] } ],
          "gender": 1,
          "badges": [ ā€¦ ]
        },
        "distance_mi": 4,
        "s_number": 123456789,
        "content_hash": "ā€¦",
        "teasers": [ ā€¦ ],
        "experiment_info": { "user_interests": { "selected_interests": [ ā€¦ ] } },
        "spotify": { ā€¦ },
        "facebook": { "common_connections": [], "common_interests": [] }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Key fields

FieldWhy it matters
user._idThe ID used in like and pass requests
s_numberA per-session card number. It is sent back in like and pass requests (see chapter 6).
content_hashA hash of the card content. Some older clients added it to likes.
user.photos[].idSent as the liked content (liked_content_id) in current clients
distance_miApproximate distance in miles. Rounded, not an exact location.
teasersShort facts shown on the card (job, school, interest)
experiment_info.user_interestsInterests, with an is_common flag for shared ones
typeUsually user. Ads or special cards can use other types.

An empty deck

If results comes back empty:

  1. Your distance and age range may be too narrow.
  2. You may have seen everyone nearby.
  3. You may have sent too many requests in a short time, triggering a temporary soft block. Wait; don't repeat the request.

The legacy recommendations endpoint šŸ”“

GET /user/recs

Used by early clients. Historical since /v2/recs/core arrived. Don't use it in new code.

Explore šŸŸ”

GET /v2/explore?locale=en

Returns the themed cards from the app's "Explore" tab (for example "New friends" or "Long-term partner"). The response schema is undocumented.

Filtered search: the temporary preference pattern

One current client implements filtered search with an interesting pattern:

1. Read current preferences     GET  /v2/profile?include=user
2. Apply filters temporarily    POST /v2/profile, /v2/profile/user
3. Fetch the deck               GET  /v2/recs/core
4. Restore old preferences      POST /v2/profile, /v2/profile/user
   (even if step 2 or 3 fails)

The lesson: wrap every state-changing operation in try/finally. If your code stops halfway, your account shouldn't be left with unexpected settings.