He kept his dating apps after saying he'd delete them? What to do

Start by separating what you actually know from what you're inferring. You know he said he'd delete the apps and that they're still on his phone or that he's been active. You don't yet know whether he has messaged anyone, whether he's looking, or whether he simply never got around to it. A green dot on Hinge means the account was active recently. That's real information, but it doesn't tell you what he did with it. Keep those facts separate in your head before you say anything, because the way you phrase the first message depends on how much you're guessing.

Pay attention to how he responded when the promise was made. If he said it casually and then dropped it, that's one pattern. If he made a point of saying it, maybe even framed it as a commitment to you, and then it didn't happen, that's a different one. The strength of the promise is part of what you're reading. A friend who forgot is not the same as a partner who said something important and didn't follow through.

The move that works is to bring up what he told you and ask him about it directly. Name the specific thing he said and the specific thing you saw, then ask what happened between them. This keeps the conversation about the commitment he made and gives him room to explain without you having already decided what the explanation is. Good replies here are plain. They say what you noticed and what you need to understand, and they leave space for him to respond fully.

What the reply can't do is accuse him of lying, prove he's still looking, or demand a specific action like deleting the apps in front of you right now. Those moves turn a question about trust into a contest, and he'll spend his energy defending himself instead of telling you the truth. You want to know whether he kept the promise, and you want to know how he feels about making it. Both of those come out more clearly when you ask openly.

Once you've raised it, give him a real window to answer. A same-day reply that is honest and specific is a good sign. A reply that is vague, that deflects into how you're always checking up on him, or that promises to delete the apps and then nothing changes is worth noticing. If he says he forgot, check whether the apps are actually gone within a day or two. If he says he kept them for a reason, listen to the reason and decide whether it's one you can live with.

Decide in advance what would make you stop engaging with this particular issue. If he gives an honest answer and then follows through, you can let it go. If the answer is evasive, or if you find out later that the apps were never really deleted, that changes the picture. The point is not to win the argument about the app. It's to find out whether the thing he promised you is something he's willing to actually do.