What Is Hinge?

As far as dating apps go, Hinge is one of the household names that almost anyone should be familiar with by now. Ever since its inception in 2011, the app has become famed for being THE place where people find real and lasting relationships. The app is, of course, "Designed to be deleted" according to its slogan, suggesting that you will never need another app after finding the perfect match on Hinge.

The Hinge dating app itself was designed to be an alternative to its sister dating app, Tinder. But where Tinder appeals to hookup-seekers, Hinge is more for people who would like genuine and lasting relationships. But does Hinge hit its mark, or is it all just hype and hot air that will leave you feeling unhinged and more lonely than ever? That's exactly what this Hinge review will answer. We dissect every nook and cranny of the app. From the effectiveness of the free features to whether paying for the Hinge premium experience is worth it, and how much that will set you back. So, let's start off with some of Hinge's pros and cons.

Pros

• The available free features let you do most things needed to be successful in finding a match (You don't have to be a paid member to connect with other Hinge users)

• The app is extremely inclusive, with an open-mindedness towards all genders and an extensive list of sexualities to choose from

• While Hinge specifically caters to those looking for meaningful long-term relationships, they also accommodate those who want something a bit more short-term

• The well-polished user interface of Hinge makes it a dream to use

Cons

• There is no desktop or web-based version of the Hinge app (Older people might prefer online dating with a more old-school approach)

• Having subscription options with additional paid-for features can make things rather expensive and fast

• You only get a very limited amount of free Roses and Hinge likes per day

Login Process

Hinge is exclusively a mobile application-based platform. So, start things off by downloading the Hinge dating app from any app store. Click 'Create account' and continue with a phone number verification. Hinge does not do any background checks, and this is the first of two verifications that will be required. Simply provide:

• Your phone number (a verification code will be sent to this number)

• Enter the 6-digit verification code sent to your phone

The rest of the login procedure will take a few minutes to complete. Hinge is the app that's designed to be deleted after all, so take your time to answer each question. Everything you fill in will be used to match you with only the most compatible members. Some sections allow you to let your personality shine, so don't be shy about giving your Hinge profile that extra pizazz.

After your phone verification, you'll have to let the app know who you are and what you are looking for by providing the following basic info:

• First and Last name (the latter is optional and will only be shared with matches) 

• A valid email address so you can enter the 6-digit verification code sent to you

• Date of birth (used to calculate your age) and age confirmation

• Choose to have app notifications enabled or disabled 

• Where you live (use a map to drop a pin, but only your neighborhood will be shown)

• The gender that describes you best* (man / woman / non-binary + you can also add more about your gender in a field provided)

• Your sexuality* (21 options ranging from straight to spectrasexual + this field can also be left blank)

• Who do you want to date (men / women / non-binary / everyone)

• The relationship you are looking for* (monogamy, non-monogamy, still figuring out + you can add more about your desired relationship in a field provided)

• Your dating intentions* (life partner with various levels of short and long-term + a field for more details)

• Height 

• Ethnicity*

• If you have children* and your family plans* (whether you do or don't want children)

• Your home town* 

• Where you work* and your job title*

• Where you studied* and your highest level of education*

• Religious and political beliefs*

• Your drinking and smoking habits* (including tobacco and weed)

• Whether you do drugs*

*Your answers to these questions can all be hidden from your profile if you'd prefer them not to be displayed.

Now it's time to fill in your profile and make it more eye-catching to others. While the app says the following three are all required actions, they can be skipped for now. Just know that without the 3 hinge prompt answers and 6 photos, you won't be displayed to other members, leaving you unable to start matching on Hinge.

• Add photos and videos to your profile (up to 6)

• Write profile answers to 3 hinge prompts of your choosing

• Add a voice prompt to your profile (similar to text prompts, but your answer is a voice note)

Profile Completion

Thanks to the initial Hinge login procedure being so extensive, your profile will be filled out enough for you to start dating immediately (unless you skipped any of the steps). These profiler sections include your photos, written prompts, your virtues, your vitals, and your vices.

The prompt section is unique to Hinge and makes the dating app a lot more fun by giving it an extra level of interactiveness between members. You'll find reading, watching, and listening to prompts to be one of the most interesting ways to get to know someone. There are even entire social media accounts dedicated to what other members say. The good, the bad, and the downright funny.

There are only 5 other things that can still be added to your Hinge profile if you want it to be 100% complete. These include the following:

• A video prompt (this is similar to the prompts from before, but your answer will be in a video format)

• A poll prompt (create a fun poll for other Hinge users to answer)

• Your Pronouns*

• Your Zodiac sign*

• Link your recent Instagram feed to show at the bottom of your Hinge profile*

*Once again, you can select to keep these answers hidden from your profile.

User Account Quality

Profiles on Hinge will all have at least 6 photos (or videos), 3 written prompts, and show some basic information about someone. You'll always at least see their name, age, height, and location. Now, this is what a bare minimum profile will look like if someone has chosen to hide everything that can be hidden. You are, however, far more likely to come across profiles that show a lot more than that.

Hinge doesn't joke about wanting this to be the last dating app you need, so you will never come across an empty profile. The Hinge dating app mostly attracts serious daters, and the majority of Hinge users are genuine about dating and aren't here to waste their time or yours. Not only is its matchmaking rather meticulous to show you only the most applicable candidates, but it's also fun to swipe through possible matches one at a time.

Dating Features

Hinge Prompts

Hinge Prompts are a unique feature of the app. It takes a normal dating profile and injects it with as much personality as possible. Prompts are preselected questions that a user can answer to either reveal more about themselves or to spark up a conversation with someone else. All the prompts that you answer will show up on your profile when others scroll through.

Prompt questions are broken down into sections that are based on the following:

• About me (about yourself and your interests in general)

• Self-care (about your mental and emotional health but in a fun way)

• Getting personal (the label says it all)

• My type (about the kind of person you are into)

• LGBTQIA+ (gay community and pride-based prompts)

• Let's chat about (all topics that are great conversation starters)

• Date vibes (what kind of dater you are)

• Story time (share interesting stories about yourself and past experiences)

• Voice-first (prompts based on auditory questions - these work best for voice prompts, but you can answer them in text, too)

More recently, Hinge also added the ability to add voice, video, and poll prompts. You'll get to answer a prompt question with a voice note or a short video to get more personal. Adding a poll is a very fun way to connect with others because when they answer a poll, you will instantly match, so you can start a chat. With the poll prompts, you also choose from the plethora of Hinge prompt ideas that are available, but then it's up to you to provide the 3 options for answers to the poll. So, you can really get creative with this one.

Standouts

Click the star icon at the bottom of your screen to see your Standouts. These are all profiles of the Hinge users that the app has calculated to be the most compatible with you. This is where that sneaky Hinge algorithm shines to show you only the cream of the crop. On a free Hinge account, you'll see 10 standout profiles that get refreshed daily. You'll see 20 if you have a subscription.

If any Standout profile catches your eye, you'll need to send a Rose (not a Like) to match with them. You only get one free Rose a week, so choose wisely, or just purchase more Roses and send as many bouquets as you want. Hinge states that you won't see these profiles anywhere else on the app. But in our experience, if you just wait a day or two for the Standouts to refresh, then some of these people will pop up in your normal Hinge feed (then you can send them a normal like and save on the cost of Roses).

Roses

Speaking of Roses. Nothing stands out more to someone than receiving a Rose. On Hinge, Roses are the premium version of likes. They are always seen first and are twice as likely to lead to a Hinge date (according to Hinge). You only get one free per week, so sending one shows that you are more than just the normal amount of interested in someone.

While Roses are required to match with someone from your Standouts, you aren't limited to only sending them to Standout profiles. Simply click on the heart icon as you would to send a normal like, then click 'send a rose instead'. If you need more than that one free Rose a week, you can purchase them in packages of 3, 12, or 50 (we break down the cost in the Prices & Cost section). They aren't cheap, but at least they will never expire.

Boosts

Getting seen by other Hinge users is the only way that you can receive likes or roses and ultimately find matches. Sure, the matchmaking algorithm will already be very helpful in this manner. But you can give the algorithm (and your profile) just a quick boost to increase your likelihood of being displayed to others.

Boosts (much like Roses) need to be purchased separately from any Hinge subscription and are sold in packages of 1, 3, and 5 per package. Once you've activated a Boost, your Hinge profile will get seen by 11x more people for one hour, according to Hinge. The best time is to do this between 5 and 7 pm in the day when the majority of people tend to be active. If you want a Boost to last longer, you can even buy a SuperBoost. It works exactly like a Boost but lasts a total of 24 hours and is a bit more expensive.

Prices & Costs

Hinge monetizes its services by offering premium subscriptions as well as additional paid-for features. The two subscriptions are namely Hinge+ and HingeX. HingeX is the more premium of the two. Subscription package prices are based on how many months they go for, and HingeX has recently introduced a weekly package as well. All subscriptions will auto-renew when they expire.

Hinge Subscriptions Prices

Subscription Perks

The additional features that a user can purchase include Roses, Boosts, and SuperBoost (You'll find a bit more detail on each in the Dating Features section). You don't need a subscription to purchase these, and they can enhance the overall experience of even a free Hinge user. These are once-off purchases, so you can top up if and when you need to. 

Roses

• 3 Roses: $12.69 ($4.23 each)

• 12 Roses: $37.92 ($3.16 each)

• 50 Roses: $93.50 ($1.87 each)

Boosts (one hour)

• 1 Boost: $9.99

• 3 Boosts: $26.99 ($9 each)

• 5 Boosts: $39.99 ($8 each)

SuperBoost (24 hours)

• 1 SuperBoost: $19.99

How Safe Is Hinge?

Personal Information Collection

Other than the information that you provide when you create a profile, Hinge will also collect information from other sources. According to their Privacy Policy, these include other Hinge users, social media, affiliates, and partners. The collected information is used for the following:

• To ensure the safety and security of the site

• Administering your account

• Help people connect with others

• Operating advertising and marketing campaigns

Hinge may share your personal information with its service providers and partners as well as their affiliated sites. This means that Hinge may make your profile visible on other services within the Match Group to provide you with better chances of making connections.

Fictional Profiles

Hinge doesn't do any background checks on its members. But they do their best to verify a person's legitimacy via phone and email verification, both of which are required to create a Hinge account. Alternatively, verification is also done by linking your social media accounts to your Hinge profile or signing up via your Google account.

Hinge users are also able to do a selfie verification on their settings page. You'll need to take a quick video of yourself so Hinge can know that you are who you say in your photos. Video selfies are rather hard to fake, and only members who have completed this voluntary step will get a purple verification mark on their profile. While it is very difficult to completely eliminate fake profiles on a dating site, if you keep an eye out for verified profiles only, you should be in safe hands.

Final Thoughts

Hinge, as a dating app, can be summed up rather concisely: refined! The dating experience on Hinge is not only fun but also the basic matching components and additional dating features work seamlessly to give you the best chance at finding your perfect match. Not to mention that you can most definitely find success using the Hinge dating app free of charge.

So, if you are looking for a genuine and lasting connection, not just a quick hookup, then Hinge should be your go-to app. Or at least at the top of your shortlist. The Hinge app gives every love-seeker the right tools to start a meaningful connection. It's ideal for its target audience but even makes allowances for those who aren't 100% sure if love is the next step for them. From the very start of filling in your profile details to sending unlimited messages to matches, you'll feel like Hinge has your back.

FAQ

How Does Hinge Work To Show Profiles Of Potential Matches?

On the Hinge home page, you'll see all your compatible members one profile at a time. After scrolling through a user's profile, you can either click the 'X' to skip to the next profile or click on the heart icon by the specific profile section that caught your eye. Alternatively, Hinge shows another 10 profiles on the Standout page just for you.

Is Hinge A Good Dating App To Find Love?

It most definitely can be! The whole point of Hinge is for you to be so successful in finding love that you eventually decide to delete the app altogether. Hinge offers a very great and enjoyable matchmaking environment that is perfect for making genuine connections.

Is Hinge Free To Use?

Yes! A free account offers many features and allows you to do most things to meet someone special. You can create a Hinge account, match with other users, and receive and send messages at no cost.

How Many Likes Do You Get On Hinge For Free?

On a free Hinge account, you'll be limited to sending 8 Hinge likes per day and one free Rose per week. To send an unlimited number of likes, you'll need to upgrade to one of the Hinge premium subscriptions.

When Do Hinge Likes Reset For Me To Swipe Right Again?

Your daily free likes will reset at 4 am each morning, and Hinge will reset your free weekly Rose on a Sunday.

How To Delete Hinge Account Permanently?

Log in to your Hinge account and click on the gear icon at the top right of the screen to go to your settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the "Delete or pause account" button. Provide a reason for leaving Hinge, then click the "Delete account" option. Confirm your deletion, and your account will be erased permanently along with all your connections.

This can't be undone, and if you merely wish to take a break, you can alternatively pause your account to come back to it later.