I tried the dating app Hinge, and I found love as promised

A little over a year ago, Hinge appeared on the French dating application market with its share of promises against the competition. Far from Tinder, Bumble, Fruitz or even Happn, Hinge shouts loud and clear that it is made to be deleted.

Professional deformation or simple curiosity, I took advantage of this launch in France to discover this refreshing new dating application. With an interface and a vision that are out of the ordinary, it had many advantages. Despite an algorithm awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962 (which solved the problem of stable marriages) and the desire for users to create strong links, I did not end up finding the person who would have made me uninstall the application of encounter.

Read also – Test: Did you end up deleting Hinge after installing the dating app?

Then, life goes on. Months pass. I’m changing cities. And I open Hinge again. From now on, the application has made a place of choice in the hearts of the French. I, who criticized the youth of the tricolor version of Hinge, was able to see that it had finally succeeded in convincing more and more singles from France in a little over a year. It’s good. But, so what? Is the rare pearl found Really on Hinge? More importantly: did the dating app live up to its promises and is now lying in the graveyard of uninstalled apps on my smartphone?

Refreshing application, but not foolproof

In the market of dating apps that all look the same, or almost, Hinge is a UFO. Where swiping is de rigueur, almost a reflex, this new dating app in the French landscape stands out. On Hinge, you have to like or, better yet, comment on a photo, an interest or a comment when you like a user’s profile.

For your information, I did not spend a single cent and, therefore, I did not benefit from the advantages of the paid plans of the application, such as benefiting from better recommendations, moving my profile to the head of the queue or even have unlimited and priority likes.

In order to enjoy the dating app, you have to be willing to play the game. Yes, you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. So, signing up to Hinge requires a little time to actually fill out your profile. To put it simply, you need to give other users enough hooks so that they can get a real glimpse of your personality and your vibe. Otherwise, what’s the point? So forget the slightly lame, bland and flat biographies that everyone uses on Tinder or Bumble. On Hinge, several hooks (written, video, polls or voice) are available to you (and even required) to speak Really from you.

A detailed profile on Hinge allows us to better understand the users who are suggested to us by the application, and to better gauge their personality. It is also a boon for the app which can refine its analysis, better understand you and present you with the best potential partners. But Hinge’s algorithm is not infallible. On the contrary, it can easily be biased. For example, I had the unpleasant surprise of finding that it quickly draws hasty conclusions. You only need to like the same type of person two or three times to find yourself saturated with very (too) similar profiles.

To be completely honest, you can’t fault Hinge for the relative accuracy of its algorithm. While I didn’t choose to meet many people through the app, the few that were introduced to me suited me in many ways. On paper, at least. Because what really matters in the quest for love is the spark. This little extra thing that makes… What’s funny, precisely, is that Hinge failed to grasp Really the person who suited me best. It took her to call me. Because the profile of the person who shares my daily life today was not presented to me as having an extremely high compatibility with mine according to the algorithm. And yet…

Hinge gives you the keys, you do the rest

With a profile full of more or less interesting hooks, it is much easier to send or receive a first message that stands out from the crowd. It is up to the user to let their creativity speak. This is the real strength of Hinge. On this dating app, quality takes precedence over quantity. With only eight likes to hand out per day, you have to be careful who you give them to. For example, Hinge is designed to make user profiles detailed and representative of their personality (as much as possible, anyway). But singles have to be willing to get their hands dirty and start a conversation that grabs attention… and the person in front of them has to be receptive.

In theory, its concept is brilliant. In practice, most men on Hinge don’t necessarily put their effort into it. They show a certain weariness and are content to like an element of the profile that interests them… Nothing more. And it’s up to the person in front to do the work to start the conversation. For me or for my friends who use the application, the observation is the same. It’s really a shame, because, really, Hinge gives you all the cards to start an interesting and relevant conversation for anyone willing to play the game…

Another interesting point? Unlike most competing dating apps, Hinge lets you see the profiles that are interested in yours. It’s very pleasant, even if you have to be patient and go through all the likes and comments received when using the free version.

This is how I crossed paths with the person who shares my life. As I mentioned before, Hinge is not foolproof and its algorithm is far from perfect. Indeed, before he sent me a message, I had not (yet?) come across his profile. Who knows how long it would have taken the application to finally present me with the rare gem?

When Hinge considers that two users are Really compatible, the application indicates this at the top of the crossed profile and directly suggests that given this high compatibility, it would be wise to meet. Because, believe her, she is certain of our future alchemy. It is his super powerful gigabyte algorithm which received the Nobel Prize in 1962 which says so…

But in my case, Hinge completely missed what is today an incontestable complicity. This is proof that the application’s algorithm is vulnerable. The reason is simple: love cannot be based on an algorithm, Nobel Prize or not. Because calculations and machine learning often forget the essential: we are human beings and by definition, we are unpredictable. If Hinge is capable of identifying part of our personality, the application will always fail to take into account our flaws, our spontaneity, our stupidity, our cracks, our contradictions and everything that makes us us.

So yes, Hinge does a good job, but it remains an imperfect dating app. If it didn’t see the high compatibility between the person who is part of my daily life and me at the time, the fact remains that the app didn’t do too badly since our profiles crossed paths. It’s good that it had detected something… And that’s the main thing. The rest of the story is ours.. But it also belongs to all Hinge users.

Goodbye, Hinge

Last year, I concluded my Hinge review on a rather cynical note. Yes, Hinge stands out from the crowd and its breath of fresh air feels good. But like its competitors, my verdict was this: dating apps are fun for a few days, but the curiosity of novelty and the desire to have conversations with strangers quickly evaporates. On Hinge, as on any dating app. I was wrong.

We must give Caesar what is Caesar’s. Hinge has the merit of giving itself the means to achieve its ambitions. It promises to make us uninstall the application, and in this sense, It does everything it can to ensure that its users have the opportunity to create links that are far from superficial.. For those looking for love with a capital A, Hinge could help by bringing a completely different view of the market. But relying solely on the dating app and its algorithm would be foolish, because they have their limits.

And me, in all this? No need to simulate superficial suspense. If you dig through the apps installed on my smartphone, you won’t find any trace of Hinge.. “Designed to be deleted”is the slogan that the dating app is hammering home. Today Hinge lost two users. And she can brag about it…

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