Hinge
Hinge is a location-based mobile dating application with a freemium model that enables users to scroll through other users’ profiles and send them a ‘like’ to let other users know they would like to ‘match’ with them. Hinge has coined itself as “the relationship app” [1] and has advertised the application as “designed to be deleted.” [2] Hinge uses eight design principles that are meant to support genuine interaction between users, such as requiring users to answer three prompts to add to their profile, encouraging users to share their religion and political affiliation, and only allowing free users to send ten likes per day. [2] Asking users to share personal information such as their political views, religious beliefs, and education is meant to help better connect users with good matches. However, with this increase in personal information shared comes a cost; users put themselves at risk for privacy breaches with sensitive information.
History
Justin McLeod, Hinge's founder, and CEO founded Hinge in 2012. [3] However, the application has gone through several iterations since its first launch. Originally, the application was similar to Tinder’s model by allowing users to swipe through profiles to seek matches. [1] In Hinge’s initial launch, their unique approach to only match users with friends of friends on Facebook set them apart. [4] Soon after, competitors adopted the same feature.
In September 2015, Vanity Fair published “Tinder and the Dawn of the “Dating Apocalypse”” which went viral for criticizing dating apps for creating a toxic hookup culture without love or romance. [5] McLeod claimed that this article motivated him and his twenty-person team to rethink their approach and to build a dating app that aimed to do things differently. [4]
Redesign
In January 2016, Hinge conducted user research and surveyed its users to gain an understanding of what they wanted out of a dating app. [4] The survey data showed that users already found Hinge to be more relationship-leaning than other apps like Tinder, but 70% of users reported that they’d like a dating app more serious than Hinge. [4]
Later in 2016, Hinge did an entire re-design of their application by moving away from the traditional ‘swiping’ model and created a new design where users scroll through other user’s profiles. This major change, along with other modifications such as removing expirations on matches, created connections that turned into full conversations five times more than the previous version, and users exchanged phone numbers seven times as often. [4] Additionally, Hinge began to charge users $7 a month in an attempt to weed out non-serious users. [6] By 2017, Hinge had reverted back to a freemium model. [6]
Now
The COVID-19 pandemic caused bars, restaurants, and other social outlets to close, which led to a significant spike in dating app interaction. In 2020, Hinge tripled its revenue with 82% growth in downloads. [7]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Markowitz, Dale. “Hinge's CEO Says a Good Dating App Relies on Vulnerability, Not Algorithms.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 31 Mar. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2017/09/29/hinges-ceo-says-vulnerability-not-an-algorithm-is-the-key-to-a-good-dating-app/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hinge. “8 Ways We Are Designed to Be Deleted.” Hinge, hinge.co/designed-to-be-deleted.
- ↑ 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, Business Insider, 22 Oct. 2014, www.businessinsider.com/meet-hinge-and-its-founder-justin-mcleod-2014-10.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Flynn, Kerry. “Dating App Hinge Relaunches, Making Serious Moves Away from Tinder.” Mashable, Mashable, 11 Oct. 2016, mashable.com/2016/10/11/hinge-relaunch/.
- ↑ Sales, Nancy Jo, and Photography by Justin Bishop. “Tinder and the Dawn of the Dating Apocalypse.” Vanity Fair, 2015, www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/tinder-hook-up-culture-end-of-dating.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Iovine, Anna. “Hinge's Founder Leans into Data to Set the Dating App Apart from the Pack.” Mashable, Mashable, 2 Dec. 2019, mashable.com/article/hinge-justin-mcleod-interview/.
- ↑ Schafer, Brett. “Could Hinge Be Match Group's Next Tinder?” The Motley Fool, The Motley Fool, 10 Nov. 2020, www.fool.com/investing/2020/11/10/could-hinge-be-match-groups-next-tinder/?source=aw&awc=21748_1615490421_90612bb0a82ad3715e0b0b9484b1e0e7.
