Perhaps not quite as serious as Match.com, Hinge is still geared toward people who want to put significant effort into their dating lives. The app has a long list of prompts to build your profile, and daters can choose to interact with each others’ photos, videos, or prompt responses to spark a conversation. When creating your profile, you can answer the question prompts with text or audio, which adds another layer of depth versus other apps that are primarily photo-based.
In terms of filters and settings, you’ll be able to set location, age, and gender preferences with Hinge’s free membership, but you’ll need to pay for the premium service to get more specific with parameters such as height, political views, and whether they smoke or drink. With the free membership, you’ll still have the ability to display your basic details (sexuality, gender, job, education, religious beliefs, hometown, dating intentions, political affiliation, etc.) and view those of other users.
A perk worth mentioning: some dating apps charge you for looking at locations outside of your home base, but Hinge does not. Meaning, if you’re traveling or considering moving to a new city, you can change your location on the app to view people in that particular area. A new city could open up the possibilities to motivate you to change or expand your life—just make sure you’re being open and honest with the people you’re matching with about where you live and what your intentions are.
