Selecting pictures, thinking about captions, choosing whether the picture is worthy of giving alike, there’s a lot to think about on dating apps. But one thing that all these apps do ensure is that you never are bored. Whether it’s wondering about the endless potential partner pictures or wondering about the app itself. You’re always entertained. How many times have we thought about how these apps work? Yes, you get to choose who you want to talk to, but how does the app work? Why is it still one of the most popular dating apps in this generation? And if you’ve thought so far, you might also wonder how the app earns? What is the genius idea behind giving millions of people a way to find their soulmates and making money through it? This article is here to satisfy that curious mind of yours and make your aimful browsing fruitful. So, let’s know How Does Hinge Make Money?
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Luckily for you, I will not build up suspense till the end. I’ll give you a sneak peek of the answer and if you’re interested in more you can read on. The short answer to the question is that Hinge makes money using a subscription method along with some free features. Users can either choose to keep using the free version of the app. However, if they are eager to get all the benefits of the app and find a date as quickly as they can, they can subscribe to plans. It is through the money earned by these subscription plans that Hinge earns its profit. And that’s it for the short answer. If you’re new to Hinge and did not understand what I just said, read on and find out the details. For all of you who want to know more about the free and premium features, you will also find your answers in the further sections of this article, so don’t stop reading yet.
What is Hinge?
All the regulars on dating apps can skip this section. This is for those who are clueless about something called Hinge. For those who think this is just another word in the English dictionary. That’s technically correct. For youngsters, the word ‘hinge’ means something other than the connecting part between two objects.
The Dating App
Surpassing the old dating methods, Hinge is a smartphone application that allows talking to strangers and connecting. People can choose their partners from thousands of others who have their profiles on the app. They can then decide how to go about the relationship.
Revealing Yourself
The working of the app is fairly simple. All users need to make their profiles that will be visible to everyone else. The profiles include your social preferences, location, sexual preferences, religious beliefs, etc. After that, the users need to add a few pictures with predetermined captions. Along with pictures, users also have the option to reveal themselves in the form of answers to some questions. These questions are again given by the app making the job of the users easier. Once their profile is made, people can view other people’s profiles and that’s when the fun begins. Building your profile is a tougher job than it looks. But selecting potential partners is fun, isn’t it?
Hinging With People
So now that your profile is ready what do you do? You like and comment on other profiles. No, this is not Youtube where you have to like and share every video. Hinge shows your profiles of other people and you can either cross out that person or like them. The overexcited one, wishing to start the chat right away, Hinge has an option for you too. Commenting on people’s pictures and captions is the way for you. If both of you like each other, you can start chatting and connect better.
What’s So New?
If you’re a pro member at dating apps, you know how they work. Swipe right Swipe left, meet someone, hook up, go on a few dates and move on. So why install another app to do the same? Right? No, Hinge is different than other apps. After knowing how you’ll also be interested in deleting all other apps, even Hinge. Confused? That’s the beginning of curiosity. I can now continue assured that you’ll read on focused. You’ll know how Hinge is different and then you might even be alright with the app making money through you.
Hinge wants you to delete the app – Yes, it’s true. But not the way you’re thinking. It’s not so bad that you’ll want to delete it as soon as you try it. The app claims to be so good that you won’t need it for long. It claims and rightly so (the success rate is as high as 90%) that the users will find and connect with their partners quick enough to not need the app after a while. Therefore, Hinge is not like other casual dating apps. It claims a real deep connection.
Hinge abides by “don’t judge the book by its cover” – Who doesn’t like cute and hot pictures on dating apps. And the cheesy bios? Nobody would want to say no to those. But can you know the person just by one picture? Can you get a glimpse of their personality just by one cheesy line (more often than not copied from the web)? No, you cannot. This is where Hinge steps in. The profile on Hinge includes pictures, your likes, dislikes, and other things you might want to show and even see for others. Before engaging with them you get an idea of what you’re getting into.
Hinge understands that you hate to wait – If you’ve ever been on the swipe gaming dating apps, you know how hard it is to wait for a match. You like a person, you want to see how it goes, so why wait? What if they never come across your profile? That’s a nightmare you don’t want to turn into reality. No warriors, Hinge steps in as your savior. The way Hinge works are through likes and comments on a part of a profile and not the whole profile. Whenever someone likes a picture or an answer, or comments on it, you are notified. And the interaction begins. You can still choose to not like the person back, but one notification saves everyone from the torment of waiting. How can something be so good! Isn’t this what you’re thinking. This is just the beginning.
Hinge is the knight in shining armor for the bad initiators – Have you ever been the one who doesn’t know how to start a conversation. Unfortunately, with all the other dating apps, you end up begin with a “hey” or a “ssup” and on goes the endless small talk. Who’s interested in that anymore. Right, nobody. Hinge is the hero we all didn’t deserve but needed. The Hinge profile isn’t all based on the looks of a person. There are questions everyone answers regarding their interests, but not in the boring “I like this…I don’t like this…” way. They are intriguing, witty, and mysterious answers. Those who struggle with initiating things, don’t let that stop you from liking people. Use these answers as your starting point. Talk about something both of you are interested in and begin directly from the stage after small talk.
If compatibility is the lock, Hinge is the key – We all know that the point of a dating app is to help you meet people you want to connect with. I’m sure you don’t want to get bored swiping aimlessly and ending up finding nobody you like. That would be such a waste. Not with Hinge. The app has a special feature “Most Compatible”, which shows the user profiles of people who might be the most compatible with you. These profiles are based on the app algorithm and are changed every day. This means that you’ll find someone to date sooner and dating won’t seem such a waste after all. All my readers who think you can’t find compatible partners through dating apps, you need to try Hinge.
Busting the ‘Everything is Paid’ Myth
After reading all these intriguing features of Hinge, most of you would have brushed it off thinking “Oh! I am sure it’s paid. Nothing is free these days.” But you’re wrong. Hinge is a free app you can download from the Playstore and use without paying a single penny. Reveal yourself, as the profiles of people, engage with them, exchange numbers, and enjoy the features of the app without spending money.
Yes, you might find there’s a one-time payment system to get access to certain special features. We will be discussing these features in a bit, but the fact stays that not paying a certain amount does not stop you from using the app altogether. This is the case for most dating apps and even other apps in general. Keep the idea of installing Hinge in your mind for a little longer, till we find out how apps like Hinge, and even Hinge. Once the secret is out, the decision is all yours.
How Do Dating Apps Earn Then?
I’ve just mentioned that usually dating apps are free to use, at least most of their features. Even if they are limited to a few features, why would a person pay for the others? And if that is true, how do these apps earn money? They can’t be running in losses. Then what is the secret of their earnings?
Free+premium plans
All dating apps let the users use their app for free but all of us can relate to getting angry at the constant subscription reminders. Unfortunately, or fortunately, those subscription plans are the income source of dating apps. But why would you subscribe right? These apps have the solution for that too. Again, if you are a regular at these apps, you might know the next few things I am about to mention. Tinder allows only around 25 swipes to non-subscribers. Now, what do you do if you’re desperate to find someone? You get the subscription plan. Bingo!!
Similar is the case with Bumble as well. However, along with unlimited swipes, Bumble also offers a few other temptations. With a Bumble subscription, users also get 5 super swipes and access to a feature that puts your profile on the top for half an hour. If you’ve ever wanted to reconnect with someone whose match has been expired, you would like a subscription too. With these temptations, dating apps lure the users into getting their paid plans and earn through them.
What about Hinge?
Here is where Hinge is no different than other dating apps. Hinge, like other dating apps, offers the users a free+premium plan according to their needs and wishes. There are different subscription plans available to users.
- One month subscription plans – They are the cheapest with around 30$ a month to enjoy all the benefits
- Three-month subscription plans – They cost around 60$ on each renewal.
- Six-month subscription plans – They cost approximately 90$ to enjoy the benefits for six months at a stretch.
Premium members get a variety of benefits that non-subscribers do not. These benefits include unlimited likes, extra preferences, knowing who likes you one by one, and twice the chance of going on a successful date with people. Once a user has subscribed to a particular plan, the plan automatically renews unless the user cancels it specifically.
If the users do not want to pay for a complete subscription, there are some other features that they can pay for individually. Hinge calls these the boosts. The boosts allow the users’ profiles to be seen for more than one hour. Users can get 1,3, and 5 boosts or a super boost varying by price.
There’s another feature that users might want to buy. Do you desperately wish for your profile to be seen first by someone? Of course, you would want to if the person interests you a lot or if they are really hot. But you never know if your profile gets lost in their notifications. A rose is your go-to option in this case. But here’s the twist. You only get one free rose per week. But you see hundreds of interesting profiles every week. Here’s the earning opportunity for Hinge. The app lets you buy more roses and keep your profile at the top for all those hot people to see out there.
The Secret’s Finally Out
With all these premium subscriptions and boosts, Hinge earns through the people they claim to connect. Not that bad of an idea is it? Well, that’s for you to decide. Even if you don’t like it, you can enjoy the app for free. Now let us all get swiping and liking and stop reading. With this, I hope your curious mind has been satiated and you can stop wondering about the apps working and start wondering about what is working between your potential partners. Happy dating!
