With dating apps available for virtually every niche, more and more single Charlotteans are talking using about Hinge and Instagram to meet people.
One woman calls Hinge “the least f***boy-ish app of all the apps currently,” dubbing it “the new Bumble.” However, she explains it’s “pretty vanilla though, literally. Not much diversity.”
Hinge launched in 2013, and has been through several transformations. Today, you connect with a potential match by commenting on their answer to a prompt or liking a picture, sans swiping.
Unlike other apps where you can get away with connecting to matches with minimal effort, Hinge users are required to fill out information about themselves before their profile goes live.
Hinge aims to stand out in a crowded space by attacking the hookup reputation attached to apps like Tinder, calling itself “an app that’s designed to be deleted” and proudly proclaiming that 3 out of 4 Hinge dates lead to second dates.
Hinge’s active user base has gone up about 500 percent in the last year.
One 26-year-old woman explains why she favors Hinge saying, “I really like the fact that you have to answer the three questions to have your profile published. It helps you really find out more about the person.”
Another woman agrees, saying Hinge makes it “easier to start a conversation.”
A 29-year-old man working in finance explains, “The removal of swiping allows for more deliberate matching. Most of the people who match actually mean to match.” He told the Agenda that he finds Hinge users to be more open-minded, friendly, and responsive as opposed to other apps like Tinder. He likes Hinge more than Bumble. “Most matches end up non-responsive on Bumble because even though the girl’s on the app, she’ll never make the first move.”