I downloaded Hinge for a month and this is what happened

Choose hinge

Out of curiosity, I decided to try out one of these dating apps and see for myself if the apps were really worth it. I decided to do some research and find the app that better suits my preferences. In the end, I decided to download Hinge because it’s so popular and because it seemed more reputable for dating than other popular apps like Bumble or Tinder.

I quickly became interested in Hinge because the app’s design makes it more attractive to learn more about a person rather than just focusing on minimal dates and appearances. Hinge allows for extensive customization of your profile with multiple images and prompts, as well as the ability to include videos, voice notes, surveys, and lots of facts about yourself and your dating goals. Essentially, I found this app to be the most suitable app to get to know a person better. Little did I know that my expectations for the app were far from what I expected.

Hinge is downloading

I downloaded Hinge on September 19th and was immediately asked to create a profile. I took the time to fill it out carefully and thoughtfully, trying to make it engaging and interesting. In total, it took me over 40 minutes to set up my profile, which I thought would suit my dating goals. I really wanted to start scrolling and try to find people that might interest me.

I only scrolled for about five minutes to realize that most people on the app don’t put that much thought into their profiles at all. Most of the people who showed up on my feed had put minimal effort into their profiles. Most profiles used the same prompts with the same answers, similar poses, and compositions. It was just imitation after imitation, and most of the profiles I looked at were only interested in short-term relationships.

This discouraged me a little, but I decided to be patient. At some point it paid off. After what seemed like an eternity of scrolling and rejecting one profile after another, I was finally able to discover people with more appealing profiles. Similar to other social media, I believe Hinge’s algorithm slowly evolves according to the user’s preferences and eventually I was able to see a much wider variety of profiles. This was a relief for me because even though the generic profiles were still popping up, I had a bit of originality to work with and I decided to look for these profiles to try and match them.

Getting likes and matching

Over the next few days, I tried to use all my likes every day to maximize the number of people I could reach, but eventually I realized how long and tiring that was. The number of likes you can give with free access to Hinge is ten per day. On paper this seems like it could be done quickly in a day, but I found it much harder to use all of my likes in a day. Normally it would take me more than 30 minutes to find five profiles that appeal to me enough to send a like. This made me realize how time consuming this app can be. I didn’t really want to spend so much effort scrolling every day, especially when the results didn’t seem representative of the time and effort invested in the app.

Within a month I sent around 100 likes. Of those 100, only two agreed with me and spoke to me, and eventually I became ghosted. On the other hand, I only received a total of seven likes on my profile and decided to only agree to four of them. Here I was able to chat irregularly until I was finally ghosted. Still, I was able to talk to one of the women enough and eventually go on a date.

I went on a date with a Spanish woman after talking to her daily on Hinge. Finally, I asked about her Instagram account and we started talking and planned to meet in person. We finally met in a bar, ordered a few drinks and started talking. In my opinion the date went well, we always had something to say and we both laughed. We stayed in the pub for three hours and then I walked her home. I was confident the date had gone well, but eventually I would learn the harsh reality of online dating.

I texted her a day after we went out, expecting a response and a chance to see each other again, but day after day passed and not a single word came from her. I had been ghosted. I realized that even meeting someone in person doesn’t guarantee success, even if you think it went well.

Inequality between men and women on the hinge

A frustrating reality that I’ve also had to realize is the huge disparity between the male and female experience on Hinge. When I spoke to some of my male Hinge user friends, I learned that their experiences with the app were similar to mine, with very little success in liking others and receiving few likes themselves. However, when I talked to my friends who use Hinge, I learned that their reality is completely different. My friends got more than 50 likes every day. I was very frustrated at the sheer number of people they could potentially contact if they wanted to, but then again I was also told that it could be overwhelming for them too. You feel like you’re constantly in demand, and it also takes a long time to filter out everyone who seems interesting. Even then, I would be happy if that was my problem if I didn’t get many likes.

Is hinge worth it?

After trying the app for a month, I can safely say that online dating is not for everyone. As a man, I think the likelihood of finding someone is more difficult due to the harsh reality of the different likes and matches you receive. To some extent it can be a bit discouraging and unfair, but if you are resilient and patient you might be able to find something.

I’m still not sure if Hinge is worth keeping someone updated, especially since so little progress has been made in a month. I feel like I might be able to succeed here if I stay a while longer, even though it might not be easy. Devoting time to the app is time-consuming and often disappointing. But if you were willing to gamble away some of your free time and hope for the best, then maybe you could meet people here. I will write another review after three months and hope that there will be enough experience to finally come to my own decision. Still, I hope this experience helps someone figure out if Hinge is worth downloading.

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