Is Hinge a Hookup App (2024) – Or Is It For Serious Dating?

OK, we know that dating sites and apps are thriving.

I mean, the regular face-to-face dating almost seems outdated.

Online dating is so popular that everybody is on Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge already.

Practically, now you even have dating websites or apps just for a specific category you are interested in.

Accordingly, you will find apps for a serious relationship (like BeNaughty or Ashley Madison), sex apps, hook-up apps (like eHarmony or Tinder) – you name it!

Now, as I mentioned Hinge – is it an app for hookups or not?

In this article, we will cover:

Let’s answer that right away!

Is your dating app giving you the best chance for success? Make sure to take our online dating site/app quiz to find out. It’s a fact that people who follow our dating site suggestions have on average 2 extra dates per month.

Hinge intentions in Video Form

Hinge Intentions [For Hook-ups or Serious Dating?]

Audio (podcast) form for those of you on the go

Hinge In a Nutshell

More or less!

The first thing you’ll notice when you check out Hinge’s website is their advertisement trick phrased as “the dating app designed to be deleted”.

In case you have any doubts about the meaning of these, let me try to put it like this.

The designers of the app are trying to say that their point is not to keep you on it for as long as possible.

Instead, their goal is to help you get on the first date with their impeccable algorithm ASAP so you delete the app rather quickly.

Obviously, they claim to be that good.

But, are they, though?

Hinge – How Does It Work?

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We know that the idea behind all the best dating apps is to help you find potential matches promptly, without much effort.

In addition to the human profilers, the majority of these sites and apps create algorithms to get you through the meeting process quickly and painlessly.

Not to mention, effortlessly.

Cause, that’s how we want it, right?

Sadly, though, good things just don’t fall from the sky.

You still have to make some effort.

With Hinge, by the way, it’s a minimum we are talking about.

Of course, it is still an app that matches people based on their compatibility, but this may yet be the one that does it a bit better than others.

How so?

Almost on every site, the daters have to fill out lengthy and boring forms, telling stories about themselves, etc, etc.

In a way, this is not fair to those who may not be so great at expressing themselves.

I’m not saying you guys are boring, it’s just that you are struggling with words.

And, I can relate to that.

(Cause, this dummy of mine is quite hilarious when we talk face-to-face, but in writing…one big disaster).

Now, instead of writing these lifeless and dry summaries, the process of creating a hinge profile is a bit different.

Namely, Hinge works by enabling all of its Hinge users to answer some 80 or more prompts.

These are questions and/or sentence fragments that you need to answer or complete respectively.

The prompts are an excellent push for someone to make the first move, cause once they see a hilarious line, they can’t resist continuing the streak.

This is an excellent idea cause even those of you who are not so creative can complete short fragments without much fuss.

Of course, the funnier, the better.

But, enough with that.

Besides prompts, I already mentioned that H uses an algorithm that helps you find potential partners faster.

However, this is not just any algorithm.

Instead, it is a Nobel prize-winning one that one would say does some kind of magic.

Sort of.

What it actually does is find similarities between prompts answers, filters you opted for, and the time you spent on somebody else’s profile.

I believe that the first two are more or less clear, so let me briefly deal with the third one.

For example, when you millennials go to any of the online dating sites and apps, you scroll/swipe through some profiles faster than others.

Believe it or not, H’s algorithm counts this short time (yes, seconds, literally) you stopped to screen somebody’s profile, and then it digs deep to find similar ones to suggest to you.

And it is in this way that you find your next potential dates.

By the way, 

Hinge Dating Pool

When H was first released, it operated under the presumption that you must have something in common with the friends of friends so it only suggested these to you.

In a way, I can see the logic behind it – if you share a friend with such and such personality traits, then you must be a good match for each other.

So, besides having to sign in to H using your Facebook account, the app would suggest the friends of your Facebook friends as your prospective Matches.

Seeing how this is a location-based app, in a way, all of this made sense.

Luckily, the Hinge app came to, that is their CEO, Justin McLeod, under the pressure from the public, ditched the Facebook approach and widened the pool.

I mean, Facebook may still be one of the most popular social networks, but there are others too.

Accordingly, your Hinge experience is now quite improved.

Now, what about…

Hinge vs Tinder?

Hmm, well, I can quite understand the concern.

It’s not just that they are starting to look alike, but they are owned by the same company.

Yes, you read it right.

Sometimes at the end of 2019, the Match group took over H. And, we know that they are owners of Match.com and Tinder too.

And we also know that Tinder may just as well be one of the first results when you Google search hookup sites and/or hookup sites free.

We know it’s nothing like OKCupid, let’s say, that is specifically designed for long-term relationships.

Besides, Tinder is primarily oriented towards instant solutions as witnessed by the swiping principle – quick and simple.

No strings attached.

Instead of this, we see that it is oriented towards a more personal approach.

Accordingly, swiping is replaced by scrolling so you can just move past if you don’t like someone.

So, no, it’s not a swiping app which means there is no this irrational fear that you’ve hurt somebody’s feelings by swiping left instead of swiping right.

Moreover, just like T, H offers quite a lot as a free app, however, with preferred membership you can do so much more.

Not to bother you with details, here’s just a simple example.

With the basic version, you can set the basic filters – age, sex, ethnicity, and religion.

However, with the paid plan you can filter matches according to their height and political views, for example.

What is more important, though, is that the paid version will grant you unlimited likes so you can scroll away until you find someone you’d like to give your phone number to.

Or, to Netflix and chill with.

And, now we get to the real question here…

Hinge – Is It for Hookup or Is It for the Real Deal?

Hmm, before I serve the answer to you on a silver platter, I want you to put your iPhone or android down just for a sec and think for yourself.

What would be your answer?

• Hinge is an app you can use to find love. True love.
• It is for casual dating and casual sex.
• It’s one of the best hookup apps.
• For me, it’s the best relationship app ever!
• I’ve only heard about HInge hookup stories.
• How to hook up on H when it’s only for the real serious stuff?

Is your answer among these? Or, something similar?

Yeah, I understand you have mixed feelings about answering if Hinge is for hookup or relationship.

I am sure that even before you opt for making a dating profile on any of the apps, you first check who the site is for and whether you can expect ghosting from other users and just a whole bunch of fake profiles.

So tell, me how did your investigation on H end up?

Let me help you out here by pointing the obvious.

We’ve already seen that H has a great point from the advertisement viewpoint.

Moreover, they are also calling you to join them so as to “go on your last first date”. They claim this to be their official approach to dating.

Moreover, the site also advertises itself as pretty great at helping you match with the most compatible person for you.

So, would you say this effort is all about short-term solutions or long-term ones?

Exactly!

The site advertises itself as primarily oriented towards finding serious partners for its users, that is getting people involved in serious relationships.

They create this air of avoiding superficial contact as established in their sister app.

(You know which one I am talking about, don’t act crazy!)

But, somehow, I am not convinced.

Why?

Well, to begin with, I’ve used it for both hookups and serious involvement.

And, I also know a bunch of people who have done the same.

How so?

Simple.

All you have to do is be honest.

If you want a Hinge relationship, say so in the first place.

If, instead, local hookups are your thing, also say so.

Let’s say you’re in New York where this location-based app can shine in full potential.

You can find enough people for both options – serious and just fun!

Just the important thing is that you are open and if you just want to blow off the steam, say so.

Practically, once you make the first contact, you will soon realize what the other side wants and whether the two of you click in.

However, there is one more thing to bear in mind.

Let’s say your match and you opt for the hookup variant.

Don’t be surprised if sometime later you figure out you want more.

This isn’t a fairytale, this happens in real life.

It happened to me.

My inarticulate dummy and I just wanted to Netflix and chill every once in a while, no strings attached, but soon enough we realized we’re eating out together, we’re not seeing other people, and most of all, we stopped using Hinge.

So, obviously, Hinge can work either way, depending on what you want and how honest about it you are.

Frequently Asked Questions

As is the case with other things in the world, we like to ask the same questions all over again, even when they have been answered.

Accordingly, let’s try to end with some of the doubts you might still have.

Final Word

Yeah, online dating couldn’t be more fun!

We millennials have averted our gaze and interest from meaningless bonds and have turned to something more lasting (sort of).

Accordingly, we are trying to brush off speed dating and spend some quality time with casual hookups or the real involvement.

In this way, Hinge imposes itself as a natural choice if you want any of the two or their combination.

This is why I think you all need to grab a chance to sign in today, find the right match and then delete the app.

Why?

Cause, believe me, this first date of yours might be the last first date.

In a while, at least!

Cheers for your next match!

Bye!