Out in the real world, showing up with a very detailed checklist of what you need a person to be before you’ll even consider dating them would be considered… a lot. You’d probably get called picky or be told to “keep an open mind.” You’ll also occasionally get unsolicited reminders that nobody is perfect and that compromise is the foundation of every great relationship.
While that’s a great piece of advice to keep in mind, having a clear understanding of and enforcing your non-negotiables would do you a world of good in the long run, which is why Tova’s dating preference filters give you a detailed, personalised way to tell the app exactly who you’re looking for, bringing you one step closer to your ideal match.
What Are Tova’s Dating Preference Filters?
Tova’s dating preference filters are a set of customisable settings that tell the app exactly who you want to be matched with. They cover everything from age range and location to ethnicity, religion, and the type of relationship they’re looking to find.
Each filter can be set as a standard preference or marked as a dealbreaker. When preferences are marked as dealbreakers, Tova will only show you profiles that meet that specific criterion.
The filters work both ways. They determine who shows up in your matches and whose matches you show up in. So the more intentional you are about setting them up, the more relevant your match pool becomes.
What Does Each Tova Dating Preference Filter Do?
Tova has ten dating preference filters, and here’s how to make the most out of each one.
1. I’m Interested In
This is your gender preference filter. You have the option to decide if you’re open to matching with women, men, or both.
Set it to reflect who you’re open to matching with and Tova will make sure your profile only shows up for the right people, and vice versa.
2. Dating Intentions
With this filter, you get to tell Tova what type of relationship you are hoping to find. Because Tova doubles as a networking app, having this setting customised is extremely important.
The dating intentions filter provides Tova users with two options:
- Serious relationship: for people who are looking for a life partner, marriage, or a committed long-term relationship, and
- Friendship: for people who are looking for genuine connections and meaningful social relationships.
So be sure to pick the one that reflects what you are looking for.
3. My Neighbourhood
This is where you set your current location. Tova uses it as the starting point for everything distance-related, which means it directly affects who shows up in your matches. It’s important to keep it updated, because an outdated location and a generous distance radius is the perfect recipe for falling for someone who is technically “nearby” but in reality, in another timezone.
4. Maximum Distance
This filter sets how far away a potential match can be from your location. You can also mark this one as a dealbreaker, which means Tova will strictly only show you profiles within your set radius.
A word of advice: Be realistic with this one. Setting it too wide opens you up to matches that are technically possible but logistically nightmarish, and setting it too narrow might cut out someone great who’s just one town over.
5. Age Range
Here, you set the age bracket you’re open to matching with.
In practice, setting an age range without marking it as a dealbreaker means the Tova app will show you profiles within that range, as well as profiles of people who are 2-3 years older or younger than the specified age range.
However, if you mark it as a dealbreaker, Tova will strictly stick to showing you profiles that fall within the exact range you’ve set.
So if you’re extra strict about your preferences, the dealbreaker toggle is your best friend.
6. Where They’re From
With this filter, you can specify the country or region your matches are originally from by selecting from Tova’s list of countries.
7. Profession
This narrows your matches by what they do for a living. Select from Tova’s list of careers/career fields to specify the industry or line of work you’d like your potential match to be in.
This could be because you want someone who understands the demands of a particular career, shares a similar lifestyle, or simply because you have a thing for firefighters.
8. Religion
You can use this filter to indicate whether shared faith matters to you in a match by selecting a specific religion or leaving your preference to open to all if this isn’t something you’re actively filtering for.
9. Children
When it comes to kids, Tova gives you four options to choose from:
- Don’t want kids: for people who have decided that children are not part of the plan, now or in the future.
- Open to kids: For people who don’t have a strong preference either way but are open to the idea of having kids down the line.
- Want kids: for people who know that having children is something they actively want from a relationship.
- Not sure: For people who haven’t come to a firm decision about having kids, but are leaning more toward not having them.
Select whichever one most accurately reflects where you currently stand, and Tova will factor it into your matches.
10. Height
Use this toggle to set your preferred height range for matches. Enter the minimum and maximum height you’d be open to date, and be sure to mark your preference as a deal breaker if your set height range is non-negotiable.
What Is a Dealbreaker on Tova and How Does It Work?
A dealbreaker on Tova is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a preference you’re not willing to compromise on, and when you mark a preference as a dealbreaker, Tova treats it as a hard requirement rather than a general guide.
The practical difference here is, when you set a preference without marking it as a dealbreaker, Tova uses it as a signal and will prioritise profiles that match what you’ve set but may occasionally show you profiles that are close to but not exactly what you’ve set.
When you mark something as a dealbreaker, Tova removes that flexibility entirely. Only profiles that meet that specific criterion will show up in your matches. No exceptions.
Not every filter needs to be a dealbreaker. Some preferences are genuinely flexible (height, for example, or profession), while some are the kind of things you already know you won’t be budging on, no matter how good the profile looks. Those are the ones worth marking.
The dealbreaker toggle exists for Tova to differentiate between the two, so use it accordingly.
Why These Filters Matter For Africans Dating in the Diaspora
For Africans in the diaspora, certain filters on this list carry a weight that goes beyond personal preference. Filters like where they’re from, religion, and children speak directly to the kind of life you’re trying to build and whether the person you’re building it with is aligned with you.
Where someone is from shapes more than their accent; it shapes how they relate to family, what obligation means to them, and how they think a home should look and feel.
For someone navigating life in the diaspora, finding a partner who shares that context, or at least genuinely understands it, isn’t a vanity preference. It’s foundational.
Religion works the same way. For many Africans, faith isn’t just a Sunday activity. It’s woven into how families operate, how decisions get made, and how children are raised. Having this set as a preference doesn’t make you close-minded. It only means you’re being honest about how important having shared values with your partner is to you.
The diaspora experience adds its own layer to the question of children as well. Questions about where to raise kids and how to keep them connected to culture are conversations that require a partner who is not just open to having them, but genuinely equipped to.
These filters exist because they are well-suited to addressing questions that help make a relationship work for someone living between two worlds.
Conclusion
Your matches on Tova are only as good as your profile and the filters you utilize when setting it up. The more honest and specific you are about what you’re looking for, the better Tova can do its job: get the right people in front of you and keep the wrong ones out of your match pool entirely. So go through each filter, set your dating preferences, and update them whenever something changes. Your future self will thank you for it.
