Gen Z’s new dating app profile rule? No bikini shots after Labor Day.

It seems that we’re still trying to crack the code with Gen Z and love, whether finding that they want deeper connections (while using AI), or that they perform during sex — even solo sex. But the Hily dating app has found a new “rule,” of sorts: No swimwear, bikini, or shirtless photos on dating profiles after summer ends. Unless you want to appear desperate, that is.

A Hily survey of 5,900 U.S. Gen Z and millennial daters found that 28 percent of Gen Z women and 34 percent of Gen Z men believe these kinds of shots are only acceptable during the summer.

Most young women (72 percent) and men (56 percent) have never posted these kinds of pics on dating apps, and it might be because one in three of Gen Z overall believes it’s a sign of desperation. Around one in five Gen Z women and one in ten Gen Z men believe they shouldn’t even be on dating apps, and it makes some of them (30 percent of women and 14 percent of men) less likely to “like.” The internet undoubtedly shaped Gen Z’s relationship to sex and dating, and one suspected impact is the fear of coming off as cringe.

Not everyone thinks this way about swimwear and shirtless pics, though. Around half of Gen Z (47 percent of women and 52 percent of men) think these photos could help them make a better-informed decision on whether they like the person or not. The majority (62 percent of women and 74 percent of men) see them as a sign of confidence. So if you want to, go ahead. You can even wear white if you want.