Hinge (app)

Hinge is a dating app founded by Justin McLeod in 2012.[1] Hinge bills itself as a "relationship app" and claims to emphasize more long term connections between users.[2]

Hinge
Original author(s)Justin McLeod (Founder, CEO)
Initial release2012 (2012)
Operating systemiOS, Android
TypeOnline dating application
Websitehinge.co

History

Hinge was founded by Justin McLeod in 2012. The mobile app version of Hinge was first developed in early 2013 and launched in February of that year.[3] The app was designed to be less superficial than Tinder, dispensing with Tinder-like swiping and using the slogan "the relationship app".[1]

Before Hinge gained enough users on the platform to sustain the business, the platform nearly ran out of funding. When making the mobile app, McLeod spent much of the remaining company cash on a launch party to be held in Washington D.C. The party allowed Hinge to gain the next round of funding and saved the app from going under.[4][5]

Hinge formerly used connections to Facebook friends to facilitate connections.[1][6] The app has since moved away from using friends of friends as a predictor of compatibility and has been rebuilt to no longer require Facebook login.[7][8]

In 2017, Hinge received the most mentions compared to other dating apps in the Weddings section of The New York Times.[9] The company released Hinge Matchmaker in September 2017 to reinvent online dating for "people that missed out on the dating app craze".[10]

Match Group made investments in Hinge as early as September 2017.[11] On June 20, 2018, Match Group acquired 51% ownership of Hinge,[12] with the right to acquire all the remaining shares within the next 12-month period, which it exercised.[13] Match Group owned 100% of Hinge by the first quarter of 2019.[14]

In 2019, US presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg revealed that he met his husband on Hinge.[15]

Hinge is in the process of setting up a department, Hinge Lab, which will focus on researching successful matches on the app to help fine-tune the app's algorithm and other features.[16]

Operation
See also: Stable marriage problem

Hinge has sought to be identified as more attractive to a younger demographic than Match.com or eHarmony. The app has a "Your Turn" feature designed to remind a user to continue a conversation. This feature was designed with the intention of decreasing ghosting.[17]

Profiles on Hinge are composed of pictures as well as three self-selected personal prompts. The prompts encourage users to focus on personality traits rather than just photos. When using Hinge, users are presented with other profiles in a vertical timeline format. Instead of swiping, users have to respond to specific photos or prompts when liking a profile. Hinge allows users to filter matches based on traits that Hinge believes are important to its members, such as religion or height.[18] Unlike other dating apps, users can message other users without having to "match" first.[16]

In 2018, Hinge launched a "We Met" feature. "We Met" lets matched users privately confirm whether or not they went on a first date with their match in order to find more compatible matches.[19][20]

In July 2018, Hinge rolled out its "most compatible" feature, which uses the Gale–Shapley algorithm to find what they claim are the best matches for users. Once per day, users get a match that makes what Hinge claims is the best pairing, purportedly based on user liking and passing activity.[21]

Marketing

Hinge's marketing focuses on how the app is "designed to be deleted", with its mascot, Hingie, getting roasted in a campfire, encased in ice in a freezer, run over by a cab, flattened by an air-conditioner, etc., when two Hinge users fall in love.[22] In 2020, the app launched Hingie Shop, selling products that can be "destroyed" such as bath bombs and smores.[23]

See also

References
  1. Markowitz, Dale (September 29, 2017). "Hinge's CEO says a good dating app relies on vulnerability, not algorithms". The Washington Post.
  2. Carman, Ashley, "Hinge's redesign is all about wanting you to eventually delete the dating app", The Verge
  3. Shontell, Alyson. "A Dying Dating App Blew Its Last $25,000 On A Hail Mary — Now It's On Fire, Giving Tinder A Run For Its Money". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  4. Yakowicz, Will (2014-11-10). "The Hail Mary Pass That Saved Hinge from Failure". Inc.com. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  5. Hyrkas, Erik (2013-02-08). "Hinge launch party debuts DC mobile dating app on 1776 Campus". Tech Void. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  6. Beck, Julie (October 25, 2016). "The Rise of Dating-App Fatigue". The Atlantic.
  7. Liptak, Andrew (2018-06-02). "Hinge will no longer require you to log in via Facebook". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  8. Perez, Sarah. "Dating app Hinge is ditching the Facebook login requirement". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  9. Lusinski, Natalia (Dec 12, 2017). "What's The Best Dating App For Marriage? Hinge Had The Most Mentions In The 'Weddings' Section Of The 'New York Times'". Bustle.
  10. Miller, Theo (September 22, 2017). "Hinge Matchmaker Expands Online Dating Craze". Forbes.com.
  11. "Match Group Expands Portfolio With Dating App Hinge". Nasdaq.com. June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  12. Carman, Ashley (June 20, 2018). "Tinder parent company buys anti-Tinder dating app Hinge". The Verge. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  13. Chang, Lulu (June 22, 2018). "Tinder's parent company Match Group swipes right on Hinge". Digital Trends. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  14. Perez, Sarah (7 February 2019). "Match Group fully acquires relationship-focused app Hinge". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  15. Mohamed, Theron (Aug 8, 2019). "Hinge downloads more than tripled last quarter after Pete Buttigieg revealed he met his husband on the dating app". Markets Insider.
  16. Visram, Talib (2019-10-24). "Hinge's founder gets vulnerable about data, addiction, and 'Modern Love'". Fast Company. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  17. Perez, Sarah (December 20, 2017). "Dating app Hinge rolls out a new feature to reduce 'ghosting'". TechCrunch.com.
  18. Heilweil, Rebecca (2020-02-14). "We answered your dating app questions". Vox. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  19. Orenstein, Hannah (2018-10-16). "Hinge's Newest Feature Is Designed To Make Your Next First Date Even Better". Elite Daily. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  20. Andrews, Taylor (2018-11-01). "This New Anti-Ghosting Feature on a Dating App Totally Works". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  21. Wells, Sarah (2018-07-11). "Hinge employs new algorithm to find your 'most compatible' match". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  22. "Hinge, the new dating app designed to be deleted | IOL". www.iol.co.za.
  23. Zelaya, Ian (2020-01-08). "Hinge Launches Online Shop With Stuff Meant to be Destroyed". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
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