You open Plenty of Fish on a shared couch. Your face is still in Meet Me. If you want to hide your POF profile, you may want to stop appearing to other members without deleting your account. You are not trying to wipe every old chat.
POF has more than one hide. Incognito is a paid switch. Take a Break pauses the whole profile. Older “hide profile” links still sit under Edit Profile on desktop. A Reddit discussion describes a user who lost access to Take a Break in the app and was told to delete the account or log out.
Incognito, Take a Break, Hide, and a News-Look Chat
| Tool | What it does | What it still shows |
|---|---|---|
| Incognito | Hides you from most recommendations. People you like or message can still see you. | The POF app. Existing matches. A paid plan in many places. |
| Take a Break | Pauses the profile. You leave search and Discovery without deleting. | Old message threads. The menu can vanish by region. |
| Hide profile | POF’s older FAQ describes hiding a profile through Edit Profile. Availability may vary. | Do not assume it hides your profile from every previous contact or every way of accessing it. |
| DailyNewsTalk | A full chat behind a news feed and a PIN. No phone number. | A news app. Not a dating icon. |
When DailyNewsTalk is the Better Fit
Stay in POF when you still want Meet Me later and you only need to leave the deck. Move the private chat out when you do not want a dating icon, a name on the lock screen, or a number after the first hello.
DailyNewsTalk looks like a news reader. You long-press, type a PIN, and the chat opens. Alerts look like news. You sign up with a usertag. Either of you can clear the thread on both phones.
Disclosure: we are associated with DailyNewsTalk. It is one option, based on how we test it. If that is what you want, download DailyNewsTalk.
Tinder has its own hide. See how to hide tinder profile. For more options, see our guide to secret messaging apps.
Jump to What You Need
- POF Incognito
- Take a Break
- How to hide a POF profile
- What people on Reddit say
- What still leaks
- Questions people ask
POF Incognito
POF’s official Incognito guide explains how the feature works. Incognito is a privacy add-on on Plus, Premium, and Prestige. POF says it is not in every location yet. When Incognito is on, your profile is hidden from general recommendations and shown to people you like or message, as well as your existing matches. Official taps: open your profile, go to My account, tap Manage account, then turn Incognito on.
You can still browse, like, match, and chat. Incognito does not block anyone. It does not unmatch anyone. It does not hide a profile you send as a link. If you turn it off, you go back into the normal deck.
Incognito is useful if you want to keep using POF while limiting who can see your profile. It is not a hide of the POF icon on your phone.
Take a Break
POF’s Take a Break article is the pause. Official steps on the app or mobile web: tap My Profile, then Manage Account, then Delete My Account, then Take a Break, then pick a length. Desktop cannot start it. POF also says the feature is only in some regions. If you do not see it, they point you at delete.
While you are on a break, POF says other members will not see your profile on Meet Me or Discovery. Your profile information and photos remain available when you return. Its help pages conflict on whether existing contacts can reply to old conversations, so check the behaviour on your account before relying on the feature.
POF says Take a Break removes your profile from search results without permanently deleting your account. However, its help pages give inconsistent guidance about messaging during a break. Check the current feature and its behaviour on your account before relying on it.
How to Hide a POF Profile
People also type hide POF profile and how to hide profile on POF. The older desktop path is still what WikiHow documents. Log in, open Edit Profile, then tap the line that says you can hide your profile from others. POF’s own mobile FAQ says the same idea: if you only wanted to hide, go to Edit Profile instead of delete.
WikiHow’s limit list matches older POF help. Hidden still leaves you open to people in your inbox, people on either favorites list, people you contact after the hide, and anyone who searches your username. Block is the tool for one person. Official help says POF will not hide you from one named member only.
Delete is permanent. Hide and Take a Break are the ways back. If both menus are gone, try the website Settings or Tools row, not only the app. Reddit’s 2026 thread is that exact hunt.
What People on Reddit Say
In a Reddit discussion titled “How to hide profile without deleting it?”, a user describes losing access to the Take a Break option. The poster had Take a Break, then it vanished. Support told them to log out or delete. Logout still leaves the profile live. One reply says hide lives under Tools or Settings on the website. Another says Help Center called the feature temporarily unavailable.
Older threads are blunter. Hide does not beat username search. Message someone and they can see you again. Favorites keep a window. People who wanted off Meet Me used hide, then messaged only the people they chose.
Take a Break threads in 2025 and 2026 say the button can fail, or dump you into a delete survey. Treat the menu as unstable. Check it on your own login before you trust it.
What Still Leaks
Every POF hide still leaves the POF app. Notifications can still name the site. Photos you saved can still sit in Camera Roll. Incognito still shows you to matches. A hidden desktop profile still answers a username search.
If someone is holding your unlocked phone, none of these menus matter. See how to hide notifications on your phone for the lock screen. For other dating hides, start with secret dating apps and grindr incognito.
Questions People Ask
Is a hidden profile on POF the same as Incognito?
Not always. Incognito is a paid, location-limited mode that still shows you to people you like, message, or already matched. Hide and Take a Break try to pull you off search and Discovery. Reddit says those menus move or vanish, so check what your login actually shows.
Can I hide my POF profile without deleting it?
Yes, if your account still has Hide, Take a Break, or Incognito. Official Take a Break steps sit under Manage Account, then Delete My Account, then Take a Break. If that row is missing, try Edit Profile on the website before you delete.
Can people still find a hidden POF profile?
Often yes. WikiHow and older POF help say username search, favorites, and people already in your inbox can still open it. Official visibility help also says prior chats can still get a reply after Take a Break.
Does Take a Break stop messages?
Take a Break removes your profile from Discovery and search while preserving your account. POF’s help pages conflict on messaging during a break, so do not assume existing conversations will remain usable.
Will hiding POF hide the app on my phone?
No. These switches only change who sees you inside POF. The icon, the notification, and any saved photos stay on the phone. Hide the app or the alerts separately if that is the leak.
What This Page Cannot Promise
Incognito, Take a Break, and hide pull you off a deck. They do not hide POF from a person holding your phone. Username search and old chats can still open a “hidden” profile. Menus change by region and app version. No dating toggle makes a shared home screen safe by itself.