It's for finding soulmates, not hookups
When you’re searching for a lost object, it’s always in the last place you look—because then you stop looking. Online dating is just like that. Any online dating app can seem awful—until you meet the person of your dreams.
If you’re sick of Tinder, Bumble and the like, there’s one more dating app that you should try: the Hinge dating app. Specifically made for people who want to settle down with someone special, Hinge bills itself as “designed to be deleted.”
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The app is equally popular with men and women, mostly professionals from the United States between the ages of 24-32. In fact, one of Hinge’s most famous success stories is that of former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten, who met on Hinge back in 2015.
Before you give up on online dating for good, consider creating an account on Hinge. If you start now, you might find your other half by Valentine’s Day!
Creating a Hinge Dating App Account
The sheer quality of user profiles is what makes Hinge better than other dating apps. You can’t look at anyone else’s profile until you complete your own.
- First, join Hinge by entering and verifying your mobile number or by connecting your Facebook account.
- Then upload at least six photos. You can choose from photos you have on Facebook or Instagram, or you can upload photos from your phone.
- Next, Hinge will encourage you to add a few prompts. A prompt is a way to start the conversation with a potential match. Hinge provides dozens of prompts for you to pair with your photos.
You’ll also select a few prompts to answer yourself.
Your Hinge Profile: My Vitals
The My vitals section of your Hinge dating app profile will give your potential matches all the basics: your location, gender preference, height, ethnicity, whether you have children, and where you’re from. You have to fill it all out, but you can choose what info will appear on your profile.
When you choose your location, you can’t just pick the state, city, or town you live in. Hinge wants to know what neighborhood you’re in.
Your Hinge Profile: My Virtues
In the My virtues section of your profile, you’ll answer questions about where you work, what you do, your education, religious and political beliefs, and whether you have and/or want children. Again, you can decide which of your answers will appear on your profile.
Your Hinge Profile: My Vices
Next, Hinge will ask you about your vices. Be honest.
You can always go back and change any part of your profile. If you try to delete a photo, Hinge will require you to replace it with another one.
Basic and Member Preferences
To change basic information like your location, go to your Hinge Preferences. That’s also where you can change Member Preferences like how far away potential matches can be and whether that’s a dealbreaker for you.
If you want to filter by more characteristics like height or politics, you’ll have to purchase a Hinge subscription.
Finding Your Honey on the Hinge Dating App
Once you’ve completed your profile, you can browse other user profiles. Tap the Hinge dating app icon, and you’ll be presented with a single profile. To move on to another profile, you’ll have to do one of two things: click the X to go on to the next profile or choose a part of their profile to like.
To like someone on Hinge, you have to choose a particular part of their profile to like, such as one of their photos or one of their responses to a writing prompt. You can include a message along with your like.
Tap the heart button to send your like. If you’re really interested, you can choose to send a rose instead of a like.
If you both send likes to each other, you’ll both get a message from Hinge—congrats, you’re a match! Once you’ve matched with someone, you can send them unlimited messages.
You’ll quickly discover that profiles on Hinge are just better than they are on other dating apps. Requiring new users to completely fill out their own profile before going on to see potential matches means that the number of spam accounts is low.
After you’ve been on the app for a few hours, check out Standouts by tapping on the star icon at the bottom of the app.
Hinge will populate that page with profiles that have “outstanding prompts from people most your type.”
Only on Mobile
Hinge does have a website, but to use the service, you must download the mobile Hinge dating app. There are versions for both Android and iPhone.
Premium Hinge Account: What You’ll Pay and What You’ll Get
What if you have some real deal-breaker requirements in a potential match? You’ll need to upgrade to a paid subscription if you want to filter by attributes such as height, politics, and smoking.
Hinge offers three subscription packages. Every package will unlock features including advanced preferences and the ability to send unlimited likes.The only difference is the length of the subscription. You can purchase one month for $19.99, three months for $39.99, or six months for $59.99.
If you don’t upgrade to a premium account, you’ll only be able to send 10 likes a day to other Hinge users. Recommendation: try the free version first before deciding whether to upgrade. You may find ten likes a day is plenty.
Dating from Home
Given the global pandemic, in many parts of the world it still isn’t safe to date in person right now. If you match with someone, and you both say you’re interested in dating from home, then the app will let both of you know so you can set up a video conference! Hinge doesn’t provide video conferencing inside the app, so you’ll have to make your own arrangements.
Give Hinge a Chance
It’s true that online dating can be challenging. Before you give up on everlasting love, give the Hinge dating app a chance. You might discover your soulmate.
