In a confusing dating world in 2026, this blog post explores the questions ‘Are dating apps sinful?’ and ‘Should Christians use dating apps?’ And it also showcases the support that SALT have in place to support Christians who feel led to use dating apps.

TL;DR: The Summary

Intro

In a world of choices, dating apps may have caused us to view online dating with rejecting minds. Similar to when we shop for shoes online we want the best and only the best. Has online dating made us more picky? Are we willing to accept less than perfect?

I love being a good host, with well stocked tea and coffee supply. But not just the normal stuff, I want to be ready to cater for everyone. 

Mint tea – you’ve got it!

Dairy free milk – no worries! 

Have you got loose leaf? Yes, yes I do! 

One day, a good friend decided that they wanted to drink Horlicks. I added the new choice to the menu and stocked up well.

This lasted for a few weeks. Then all of a sudden their request was decaf tea. Again, I replenished my supplies. 

Not long after – I wondered how I found myself grating fresh ginger into a mug of hot water,  while staring at a long forgotten tub of Horlicks…

My friend revealed that they were trying to come off of caffeine. When they eventually gave in again by drinking real tea or coffee, they’d reset the process with a new decaffeinated drink. 

They’d decided that caffeine was wrong for them. Whether it was something they’d read, or watched or felt or feared, I’m not sure. 

I love my friend and support their beverage choices, but to me this felt a little extreme. Surely, in balance, caffeine isn’t that bad…

Is using Dating Apps a sin?

We can all at times be quick to call something wrong and pull ourselves down in trying to avoid it. For Chrisitans, the ‘grey areas’ of life can increase our likelihood to deem things not okay.

Caffeine technically is a drug isn’t it?

What about the lottery or having tattoos?

We don’t want to do something that pulls us away from God’s plan.

When our search for love may lead us into the online dating world – we might wonder: 

Is using dating apps a sin?

Sin of Dating Apps #1: Playing God

There is a genuine question (or argument) that using a dating app is almost as if we are ‘Playing God’ in our lives. We decide to have control of our route into relationships and take matters into our own hands.

Perhaps we might feel more strongly about this if we’ve been a single Christian for a long time. “God I’ve done it your way, now it’s time to do it my way”. 

You might be over the waiting, the wondering and want something that feels like progress. But are we actually walking off God’s path for us if we make a profile? Are we overtaking His plans for our lives? 

Before this runs away in your thoughts and you get too worried, let’s pump the brakes.

The short answer is – No! Online dating isn’t a sin. 

We aren’t using our power to override God, in fact we are using what He has given us (more on that in the next section).

Choosing to date online won’t ruin God’s plans for you. In fact, Christian writer and podcaster Stephanie May Wilson quotes Lisa Bevere in her blog on the same theme:

“If you think you’ve blown God’s plan for your life, rest in this. You, my beautiful friend, are not that powerful.”

How can we be sure of this? Because of Jesus. Even if dating apps aren’t God’s ideal plan for you in a certain moment, even if they might cause some areas for you to stumble – they are not enough to cancel out what Jesus accomplished on the Cross for us. No lie, no mistake, no swipe, no doubt – nothing we do will separate us from God’s love, if we know and follow Christ.

 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:38-39)

That’s not to say that we can’t be tempted by sin through dating apps, or some of what’s in our heart can lead us to sin through online dating. But we’ll unpack that a bit further on. 

For now, hopefully we can rest in the love and grace of the Lord and trust that no matter our dating path, He is still God!

Dating Apps Sin #2: God doesn’t make tables

There’s a fantastic clip going round of American Preacher Bishop T.D. Jakes. You can watch it here, but to quote him, he says:

“I often tell people that God doesn’t make chairs, 

and He doesn’t make tables. 

He only makes trees.”

That really got me thinking about dating. 

I see from what Bishop T.D. Jakes is saying here, is that we are all being invited by God to take an active part in using what He has given us. 

He gives us the tools, the resources, the reasoning, the skills we need. But we have to actually do it. 

I feel this is such a freeing revelation for single Christians, or single people in general. So often we buy into the Hollywood tales of meet cutes and ‘meant to be’. That our future spouse will one day sit next to us at the bus stop or meet our gaze across a crowded church. 

Not to say this can’t or won’t happen. But we often choose to think this is the only way God works. He’ll just make something happen, so until I see ‘Mr or Mrs Right’ right in front of me, I’ll wait. 

This becomes an agony for many who feel called to marriage and don’t seem to happen upon the love of their life.

But God is saying, “Take part, use your initiative, look at what I’ve provided, take a chance! Let me bless what you work on.” 

We see this many times in the Bible, but the feeding of the 5000 comes straight to mind. Many people were listening to Jesus’ teaching, the disciples realised they’re getting restless and hungry and asked Jesus what they should do. 

He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

(Luke 9:13)

You! God says you can do something about the areas you feel stuck in in life, where you need a new start or even food for a crowd of hungry people – just by using what we already have.

Did you reject that offer from a friend to set you up?

Have you chatted to a single Godly person recently who you could ask on a date?

Do you have a device that connects to the internet? 

God is not warning us to give online dating a wide berth because it’s a sin. He can work through any situation if we bring it to Him. 

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. […] They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.

[Luke 9:16-17]

Bishop T.D. Jakes goes on to highlight the importance of prayer in all this too:

I’m not saying you should pray ‘til you see a table because God’s not going to make a table. 

But if praying calms you to the point that you look at a tree and now you see how to make a table, then prayer puts you in a place of provision.

Prayer anchors your soul, it releases your creativity and it tells you what to do with what you’ve got! 

We should definitely walk wisely in our dating endeavours. Prayer is vital in keeping us connected to God and placing Him first in our lives. But also allowing Him to reveal our next steps and fill us with peace about the actions and decisions we should make.

Dating Apps Sin #3: We forget our values

So if dating apps are not us ‘Playing God’ and God is actually inviting us to do something with what He has given us, then I don’t have to worry about sin at all, right?

Mainly, yes. But it would be remiss of me not to mention some of the potential mindsets and temptations that dating apps can lead us to. 

So here’s a few areas to be mindful of in your pursuit. If you’re looking to meet Christian singles, this is also good Christian Dating advice too:

What I Want

It’s no surprise that some people don’t agree with how dating apps work. The idea that you are almost ‘shopping’ for a partner makes us feel a bit uneasy. 

We arrive on the app with our list of wants and needs, add some of those into our preferences and off we go in the hopes to match with the perfect mate. 

It’s really important to be mindful that godly dating (especially on an app) shouldn’t be a numbers game, or a game at all. 

And we definitely shouldn’t be dating with a view to find a person who simply fulfils all our wants and needs. This would be wrong as we’d be treating others as objects rather than the loved and valued human beings they are. So check your mindset, and your heart regularly as you consider the profiles before you.

Being judgy

There’s then the obvious trap of becoming too judgemental on a dating app. About others and yourself. Especially if we are upholding the ideal of the ‘perfect person’ in our heads. 

It might be in the other people’s pictures, the content of their profile or in your conversations. 

Just because it’s online doesn’t mean we can allow hard heartedness and judgement to rule our thoughts and forget there are real people on the other end of our phone.

We all love talking about what gives us ‘the ick’ (girls and guys) and it’s good to know what we don’t want in a partner as much as what we do. 

But we should be cautious of cynicism and jumping to conclusions. Bring an open mind and some grace too.

Vanity and pride

Because online dating is so photo orientated it can be hard not to focus on ourselves and how we look. 

We’re also in complete control of how we present ourselves and it’s easy to hide the ‘real’ us to show off a more picture perfect version of who we are. 

We should also watch out for pride. This can come in many forms but I’ll highlight two very quickly. 

First, being prideful about your faith. Some single Christians might read profiles of others and think they are better, more godly, or just know more than them. This is not a good attitude to bring, especially when wanting to date other Christians. 

And then there’s allowing pride to get in the way because of ‘meeting online’.

I think many of us may feel discomfort or practice caution because meeting someone through a dating app perhaps wasn’t how we ‘dreamed’ things might be, or we don’t want that to be our story. 

But it’s good to remember that meeting online isn’t really your story. Your first date, how you got to know each other, the memories you make and how you fell in love, is!

The Lure of Lust

Perhaps you’ll find more proactive images on a non-Christian dating app but I don’t think this is the only source of lust in online dating.
Considering the pull towards lustful thoughts and actions links back to our ‘What I Want’ chat, and being mindful of deeper motives overtaking us. If you want to explore the difference between lust and attraction more, check out our blog here.

SALT Dating App Support

Keeping in mind that there’s probably no such thing as a perfect dating app, what SALT offers single Christians looking for love will bring a lot of peace to our concerns about the potential pitfalls we just discussed. 

SALT is a free Christian dating app that is changing the Christian dating scene! SALT’s mission is to make it easier for Chritisan singles to meet and connect, in a less awkward and more enjoyable way. 

So if you’re someone who’s been fence sitting, (or waiting for God to answer your prayers with a table…) choosing SALT could be a great step for you.

One of the biggest bonuses of SALT is how they limit the number of profiles you can see in a day, as a way to help us search with intentionality. 

SALT says:

We want to create something that strikes the sweet spot between meeting Christians you wouldn’t find in your usual circle and an app you spend hours and hours on. We didn’t want this to be a shopping experience! We’re aiming for meaningful and intentional connections over endless and unlimited choice. To do this we limit the number of new people you meet each day. This also applies to Premium users who see c.50% more new stories but still have a limit.SALT is an app for Christians by Christians, who want to uphold the Body of Christ as they date. You can also find out more about how the app supports Christians who want to meet new people, including moderating the app, in this great conversation between Lauren and David. You can also read about how to be more successful on dating apps here.

Let’s Conclude

To go back to my friend from before, I hope they find a balance that maybe works a bit better for them. They love coffee, I know they miss it…

And I encourage you to approach dating apps with the optimism it deserves before ruling it out or calling it wrong too. 

Be assured that we are not playing God by actively looking for a date because we know God loves and wants us to use what He has given us! And along with that, we can be mindful of the areas where sin could enter into dating online without being fearful. 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgement.

2 Timothy 1:17

Through all of it pray! Seek God and allow His peace to lead you. 

Give it a go! Download SALT today.