As one of the fastest growing dating apps out there, Hinge is certainly a contender for anyone looking to find a relationship online. And while the app has the backing of the largest dating app company in the world (Match Group) and a lot of neat features, there are a few things that we uncovered in our Hinge review that, at the very least, you’ll want to be aware of before signing up.
Pros, cons, a lawsuit, cost, features, and more —get excited.
Hinge is very popular, but a lawsuit may reveal a concerning source of that popularity.
There’s some pretty big news in the world of Hinge that came to light recently that you need to be aware.
Hinge and its parent company Match Group are currently being sued in a class-action lawsuit claiming that the company is knowingly employing addictive technology that tricks your brain’s dopamine to get you hooked on the app. While the case is still pending, we’ve done our own research, and this is the main reason that Hinge did not make our list of the best online dating apps.
We cover the case pretty extensively in our Hinge vs. eharmony article, but here’s the big takeaway.
“Harnessing powerful technologies and hidden algorithms, Match intentionally designs the Platforms with addictive, game-like design features, which lock users into a perpetual pay-to-play loop that prioritizes corporate profits over its marketing promises and customers’ relationship goals.”
Case 3:24-cv-00888 Document 1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 2 of 59
In other words, the suit claims that the technology Hinge uses to drive its matchmaking is highly addictive and messes with the chemicals in your brain to make you addicted to the app.
Additionally, there is extensive research that shows this type of dopamine manipulation known as “gamification” can lead to withdrawal symptoms, doom scrolling, and negative mental health outcomes.
There seem to be a disconnect between Hinge’s slogan and the relationship goal it serves.
The slogan for Hinge is the “Dating App Designed to Be Deleted.” It’s a pretty clever slogan that leads us to believe the dating app is designed to help you find a serious and committed relationship.
However, when you create your account, you’ll see relationship goal options for both serious and casual dating. You actually have seven different options to choose from including:
- Life partner
- Long-term relationship
- Long-term relationship, open to short
- Short-term relationship, open to long
- Short-term relationship
- Figuring out my dating goals
- Prefer not to say
For us, this feels like a bit of an identity crisis. We have seen some apps that can pull off multiple relationship goals in one, but those apps don’t offer a marketing message that is tailored one way or the other like Hinge does.
The problem is that when an app tries to be everything to everyone, it runs the risk of being great for none and mediocre for all.
In Hinge’s defense, it does feel like they do a decent job of pulling both off. Our bigger issue is with the marketing message attracting serious daters expecting to be on a platform designed for serious daters.
If someone selects ‘Short term relationship, open to long’, are you going to see them if you select you just want long-term or life partner? We can only speculate, but we’d imagine yes — and that would be a big miss. You’d be getting matches and messages from people who are predominately looking for short-term, casual dating.
Hinge seems to have a strange aversion to the word ‘marriage’.
If you noticed on the screenshot of relationship goals on Hinge, there was something interesting missing — the word ‘marriage’. In all areas of the app where we’d expect to see the word marriage, we saw ‘life partner.’ Here’s an example:
Now, is this a pro or a con? It really depends on how you view the world (which is not what we’re getting into today).
If you’re someone that believes in marriage and feels that it’s an important goal in a relationship, this is probably a Hinge con. If inclusive language is more important to you or you don’t care what terms a dating app chooses to use, it’s either a pro or a non-issue.
We thought we’d share it, though, as it’s not something we customarily see in any of our matchmaking and dating app reviews.
There have been concerns that Hinge frontloads attractive matches.
These concerns we uncovered in our Hinge review came from two places — reading posts and reviews from other Hinge users and from our own experience using the app (several times over the course of several years).
Here’s a few screenshots of some of the posts we’re referencing to set the stage for this section of our review.
Let’s be very clear here. We can’t see behind the scenes as to how Hinge’s algorithm works. However, we’ve tested hundreds of dating apps and matchmakers over the year, and we’ve never seen such a consistent stream of physically attractive profiles as we did when we started our Hinge accounts.
When we used Hinge, it felt like we were looking at a magazine, and not in a way that felt inviting. Everyone looked like a professional model.
Pro or con? There’s a temptation to look at this as a pro because maybe Hinge is just really good at attracting good-looking members. And while there’s a chance this is the case, we highly doubt it. It feels more plausible that they’re front loading more attractive or more popular members, possibly to entice members to purchase memberships.
Again, this is just our theory, but based on the user reviews and posts we’ve seen online — we’re not the only ones who feel this way. And when you toss in the possibility that the current lawsuit over doing things to make the app more addictive could be true, it tracks.
Hinge does offer extensive creativity in how you can prepare your profile.
Something Hinge does wildly different than a lot of other dating apps out there is offer some unique creativity when you’re creating your profile. Is this a pro or a con? Again, it’s up to your personal preferences. If you prefer a more streamlined and traditional approach to online dating, you won’t like it. If you like full creative control to express yourself how you want to, you’ll love it.
For example, Hinge let’s you add written prompts, video prompts, polls, pictures, and a lot more.
Within each prompt, you have the option to select which one you want to use. Here are a few examples of what you get to choose from.
Additionally, when you’re trying to match with another member, you have the option to like different parts of their profile. So, someone could like a prompt you shared, a video, a photo, etc.
Hinge memberships cost up to $149.99 with several options to choose from.
Hinge has two different types of memberships you can choose from — Hinge+ and HingeX. The major differences between the two memberships are that HingeX is more expensive but comes with:
- Enhanced recommendations – Get access to matches who are more ‘your type’
- Skip the line – You get recommended to other matches sooner than regular members
- Priority likes – When you like someone, it stays at the top of their list for higher visibility
Pricing is available for both Hinge+ and HingeX in four time increments — one week, one month, three months, or six months. The longer the term you select, the more you can save on the membership. All memberships are charged as a one-time fee upfront and are all set to auto renew.
Here are the most current cost to purchase a Hinge membership.
| Membership Type | Duration | Monthly Cost | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinge+ | 1 week | NA | $16.98 |
| Hinge+ | 1 month | $34.99 | $34.99 |
| Hinge+ | 3 months | $21.66 | $64.99 |
| Hinge+ | 6 months | $16.66 | $99.99 |
| HingeX | 1 week | NA | $24.99 |
| HingeX | 1 month | $49.99 | $49.99 |
| HingeX | 3 months | $33.33 | $99.99 |
| HingeX | 6 months | $24.99 | $149.99 |
Our final results from the Hinge review are this.
Ultimately, we think there’s a good chance you could find positive results from Hinge based on the large membership base and creative matchmaking process. However, if the lawsuit is true, you’d potentially be doing so at the risk of your mental health, which is not something we think you should be taking risks with. For us, Hinge is going to be a pass until we see some sort of quality change response to the addictiveness allegations. In the meantime, we’d recommend trying out a dating app from our list of great dating apps.