How do I choose who and what I am looking for?

You choose who you want to see and what you are looking for under Settings → Discovery, and you can narrow it further with filters and Intent modes.

Steps

Go to Settings → Discovery.
Under Show me, pick who you want to see in your deck.
Set the age range you are open to.
Set the maximum distance from where you are.
Save. Your deck updates immediately.

You can come back and change these settings at any time. Nothing here is shown on your profile.

Filters

The basic filters, age, distance and who you want to see, are free for everyone.

Plus and Platin members get advanced filters on top:

Verified only: show only profiles with the Verified badge.
Height.
Lifestyle preferences.

Intent modes

If you know what you want right now, join an Intent mode. The modes are Tonight, This week, Slow, Open and Monogamish. When you join one, you see only people in the same mode for 24 hours, and they see only you and others in that mode. It is the fastest way to skip mismatched expectations. Joining a mode requires Plus or Platin.

Good to know

Changing your distance setting does not reveal your location to anyone. Distance is shown to another person only after a mutual reveal, and Plus members can hide it completely.
If your deck feels empty, widen the age range or distance first. Advanced filters and Intent modes narrow the pool, so use them on purpose.
Travel mode, a Plus feature, lets you drop a pin on a map and browse another city before you get there.
Your own profile is shown to people whose settings include you, so keeping your profile details accurate helps you appear in the right decks.

/help/how-the-deck-and-filters-work
/help/intent-modes
/help/travel-mode
/help/hide-your-age-and-distance