Kittenfishing
Etymology
Coined by the dating app Hinge in 2017, riffing on catfishing — if catfishing is inventing a fake person, kittenfishing is the smaller version. The “kitten” marks it as a lesser, softer offense than the full “catfish.”
noun · /KIT-n-fish-ing/
Subtly misrepresenting yourself on a dating profile — the milder cousin of catfishing.
What it names
It names the small, common deceptions of online dating: flattering old photos, a fudged height, an inflated job title. You are still yourself, just airbrushed past what a date will actually find.
Example
His photos were clearly five years and a full head of hair ago — classic kittenfishing.
Related idea
A gentler cousin of catfishing: a catfish invents a whole false identity, while a kittenfish is really themselves, just flattered.