Hinge
What is Hinge ?
What is Hinge ?
Business Model
Hinge is a dating app launched in 2013 that focuses on
fostering meaningful connections between people looking
for long-term relationships. It differentiates itself from other
dating apps by encouraging users to create detailed
profiles with prompts that highlight their personalities and
interests, rather than just swiping on photos.
Match Group
Parent Company (51% stake)
Hinge
Freemium service Model
Tagline
"Designed to be deleted."
Subscription Model
Company's Mission
Hinge+ | Hinge x
To help people find meaningful relationships.
Statistics
User base: 20 Million
MAU: 6 Million
Premium Service
Users: 800,000
Men : Women - 2 : 1
Users
Age Group
18-22
23-36
37-49
HingeX
50+
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Hinge+
1 time fee Model
Why aren't the users happy ?
The True Problem
Secondary Research
Users having low trust level and engagement level over the
app.
2000+ Dating app user Survey Data: Source
How do we know it's a real problem ?
I have personally read through 1000+ reviews, and the
autogenerated review topics provided by Google App Store
from the existing 222k reviews all point to these issues.
1 in 5 check their dating apps more than 10 times per day
2 out of 5 users spend at least 2 hours on dating apps each day.
55% of users only message few of the matches or none.
Insight: Even though the activity levels on the platforms is high,
still the engagement / interaction levels aren't that great. This
could be due to match centric design & Slot machine interface.
63% of people would rather message someone 1st.
3 in 4 are worried if someone would judge them based on how
quick they messaged or responded.
50% of people expect the ideal time to message / respond
after a match is within an 1 hr.
Engagement:
No response after matching.
Matches are ghosting mid-conversation.
Most compatible feature is useless as per users.
Limited features - No GIFs / Video / Photo sharing
available.
Insight: The judgement hesitation could be a friction point in
starting the conversation thus lowering the engagement levels.
No. of convo. at once
Common Issues
Trust:
The prices are unreasonably high, it feels like they're
trying to rip us off.
Even basic filters are behind the paywall
Still charged for roses after subscribing. Why isn't it
included.
Paid service not effective, saw no conversion.
Why should we solve this problem now ?
The global online dating application market size
was valued at USD 7,939.2 million in 2022 and is
projected to grow at a compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) of 7.6% from 2023 to 2030
Hinge saw its installs grow 50 percent Y/Y to 8.4
million in 2020, it only grew 2 percent Y/Y to 8.6
million in 2021.
In January 2022, Hinge saw its MAUs reach more
than four times that of January 2019.
Insight: Improving Hinge's app rating could help
maintain or improve its growth trajectory in the
future by increasing visibility, user acquisition, and
retention.
Users
What is the value generated by solving
the problem ?
4-5 People
2-3 People
1 Person
For Business : Increase in revenue & increase
in market share
11+ People
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Insight: There seems to be a limit to how many conversations a
user can have at once but at the same time user have been
provided access to unlimited connects. Source
For Customer :
More meaningful matches and
relationships
Better experience on the platform
Who are the ones facing the most issues ?
User Journey
Shubham
Male, 28years, lives in bangalore in
shared apartment, Marketing
manager, travels 1.5hrs overall daily
for work, introverted & shy.
" Everytime i open the app, i always feel a sense of hope ki
aaj toh for sure i will match with my future girlfriend."
Looks at dating app with a hopeful outlook, believing that
he will meet his future partner, but also has concerns about
not being matched with someone he finds interesting.
Highly active on mobile for connecting with work teams &
exploring new content ideas / trends on social media
platforms.
Spend around 0.5-1 hr on dating apps a day exploring
matches
Pain Points: He feels like he's not getting as many matches
as he should be and that the matches he does get are slow
to reply or uninterested. This has led to feelings of selfdoubt and anxiety about his ability to find a meaningful
relationship.
Goals / Needs: Shubham wants to find a fulfilling and
lasting relationship with someone who shares his interests
and values, who is understanding and patient with his
shyness.
Sarah
Female, 22years, lives in delhi with
parents, recently graduated, got her
1st job as graphic designer, hybrid
work culture, outgoing and foodie.
"Can't wait to meet the guy whom I can annoy all day and
still keep close. I want to go out with him, have some yummy
food, and do all sorts of things together."
Sees dating apps are like places to network and make
friends and when it clicks with the 1 taking it forward in a
more serious manner and at the same time being troubled
with the possibility of attracting stalkers.
Majority of the time is spent on mobile for chatting with
friends and family and seeking inspiration for designs
from platforms like dribble etc.
Sign up
Basic Detail Filing
20 Q's | 5mins approx.
Great it auto suggest and get
opt, don’t have to the manual
work.
Why do you need so much
data, can’t we do this later.
Its taking too much time
I didn’t expect this to be so
Creating Profile
lengthy, i had to think
through this alot ! whats up
6 Pics | 3 Prompts |
with if i don't add 6 pics i
Voice Note | ~ 10mins
ain't allowed to like others.
Hinge subscription
Pop up
Not interested right now, let
me at least see the quality of
the app.
Hinge + | Hinge x
Spend around 1-2 hr on dating apps a day exploring
matches and chatting.
Explore Page
Pain Points: She finds the abundance of options on dating
apps overwhelming and often struggles to sift through them
to find a compatible match. The process of repeatedly
going on first dates with unsuitable people has left her
feeling frustrated and disheartened.
Goals/Needs: Seeks a partner who values communication
and emotional intelligence to establish a strong, healthy
relationship. She desires to improve her ability to manage
matches and prioritize conversations with those who she
feels a genuine connection with.
Like section (2hrs)
Matched Section
Conversation
Oh there is no swiping option!
Now what is this rose option.
Let me start with a like the
profiles look nice.
Female: 30 likes already!!
Male: 3 likes, Nice.
Female: 20 Matches talks to 4
Male: 2 Matches talks to 2
The interface is very limiting,
can't even send gifs / pics etc.
What are the possible ways to look at the solution...
Activity Report
Compatibility Score
What is Activity report ?
What is Compatibility Score ?
Users of dating apps often find themselves with low
levels of engagement, wondering why their matches
aren't responding. It can be difficult to tell if the lack
of communication is due to the users' communication
skills or if their matches are inactive. Fortunately, the
Activity Report provides users with a helpful solution
by informing them of their potential match's activity
status before they swipe. This allows them to adjust
their expectations accordingly and avoid unnecessary
frustrations from a lack of communication. It also
allows users to make more informed decisions about
their matches, which can lead to better outcomes.
Compatibility is crucial for any relationship to thrive
in the long term, yet many dating apps tend to
prioritise visual appeal over compatibility. This is
where the concept of a compatibility score becomes
significant. The feature allows users to complete a
questionnaire once, comprising 30-50 questions
revolving around fundamental compatibility aspects,
including daily routines, likes and dislikes, values &
principles. The responses generate a compatibility
score to help users assess their compatibility with
potential partners.
88%
You both are highly compatible, we believe you have
the best chance for a great first date. Have a look and
find out why!
Features:
Features:
Chats with matches: How often they message
matches
3 buckets of created depending on answers
provided. Those are as follows
Agree: All the questions for which both users
have same answers are shown here.
Yes
Yes
Disagree: All the questions for which both users
have different answers are shown here.
Send first message: How often they break the ice
Active within 72 hours: Whether they’ve recently
signed in
Me
Find out: Those questions for which the potential
match has answered but you haven't would be
shown here, prompting you to fill out more to
find the answers.
Others
Replies within: Average time it takes them to reply
How does it
work ?
1. Open the explore page, tap on the lightning icon
beside the user's name.
2. Once you are paid subscriber, you will get a
dashboard with all the data.
How does it
work ?
1. Open the explore page, tap on the icon showing
score percentage.
2. Once you are paid subscriber, you will get a
dashboard with all the data.
Choosing the right solution..
The Rule of 5
App Prototype - Click
What is Rule of 5 ?
Second order Thinking
Dating apps offer countless opportunities to search for
a suitable mate, but it also poses a challenge as the
app's layout does not reflect the constraints of reality.
In reality, we have limited resources and can only
handle a certain amount of options. Thus, the Rule of 5
feature strives to emulate this scenario in the app. By
restricting the number of matches to 5, users face the
opportunity cost of choosing the next match beyond 5.
This ensures the app mimics real life, providing a more
authentic dating experience.
5 Matches in Inbox: Walkthrough & Implications
Features:
No mention of Number of people in waitlist / like
section.
The inbox can only contain 5 matches, after 5 likes
are turned off and would only be turned on if you
unmatch someone.
When person approves the waitlist user, he/ she can
only do that with a text.
People with 5 matches wouldn't be visible to other
single users in explore section.
Profile verification in start with profile creation.
Singles here means:
user having less
than 5 matches
The user would be able to like any profile ( daily limit 5 - in free ) till the user gets 5
matches.
Once the limit of 5 is reached, he will still be able to see profiles on explore and waitlist /
like section but won't be able to take any action.
The only way to take action on explore page & waitlist is to remove the least likeable
profile of the 5.
The User has to choose between leaving a match in the hope of getting accepted by the
user they liked, which isn't a surety.
The users with 5 matches can always use the explore section to look for the better match,
but the single users can only see the user with ( 5 matches ) after that user removes
someone from the list to give that other person a like.
This removes the unnecessary swiping/liking without intent to interact but using it for
self gratification & ego boosting.
If someone is on the waitlist and after a point, he gets 5 matches, he would be taken off
the market, that means explore page and also from the waitlist of others.
Why other 2 solution might not work?
Activity Report: Although the Activity Report feature may seem promising at first, providing daily chat
statistics for users to make more informed decisions, but can be considered as vanity metrics as it does not
reflect the quality of conversation. and anxiety for users, as they may feel pressured to maintain these
metrics even without having meaningful conversations. This could also allow users to easily manipulate the
metrics to give a false impression of their activity, which can further reduce the chances of genuine matches.
Compatibility Score: the feature has the potential to be effective if dating app users take
it seriously. However, since profile creation on dating apps can take as little as two minutes,
and hinge is already pushing that to 10mins so, adding more 7-10 minutes in completing a
questionnaire could lead to high drop-off rates. As a result, the adoption of this feature
may be relatively low, reducing the number of users who could benefit from it.
How would we visualise it ?
Likes
free plan: Only 5 Likes /day
Paid plan: Unlimited
Interaction limitation
After 5 matches in inbox, user can't
like any picture in explore or waitlist
& singles can see the user on explore
Inbox
Only have up to 5 matches at a time.
Beyond 5, you have to consider the
match's opportunity cost.
Show availability
User needs to unmatch to become
available and viewable on explore
feed for singles.
How we solve the problem...
How the ' Rule of 5' solves the problem we mentioned in the start?
The Areas that were of concern while looking at the app ratings were found out to majorly revolve
around trust over the app and engagement over it.
Problem of Engagement
The Rule of 5, makes sure that users don't overburden themselves with matches of more than what
they can handle.
As per the insights gather from focus interviews, its seems that the best few gets most of the likes
and matches. As the best mate is always visible to all the users and those 5-10% users have 1000+
matches.
Due to this user always try to match with the best even though those people already have
1000+ matches.
This feature takes those people off the match / explore and gives chance to others as well who
might not be the best but within the pool that is active they are at good level.
This way the burden of 1 person having 10k matches reduces and other also get more matches.
When more likes are distributed equally the overall load is reduced on a single person and it
improves engagement as they are dealing with limited users.
Problem of Trust
Alot of users had a issue with the subscription & 1 time purchase pricing of hinge but when we look
deeper, it was mainly an issue of money getting wasted as matches we low or engagement was
lower than expected.
Fake profiles was also an issue that was fixed via adding the verification part at the start ot
making the profile
No extra anticipation
The number of people in waitlist is
removed, as it promotes a negative
behaviour pattern.
Real Connections
The only way a user can establish a
match is via texting the person in
waitlist & not a emply match.
Improving the Review
We have to place rating pop up at the right places such as
Once a user has matched with someone and had his / her 1st conversation just after it we can
add a prompt asking about how was the conversation with a rating bar. If rating is good then
we would send another prompt asking to rate the app and if rating was low we would ask for
feedback.
How would we measure, if we solved the right problem ?
Focus Metric
Average rating post ' Rule of 5'
Feature release
REACH
ACTIVATION
Marketing
Growth
Subscribers
# User reaching 5
matches within 3
days
ENGAGEMENT
RETENTION
BUSINESS SPECIFIC
Product & content
Product & Marketing
Product
Conversation in
mins per match /
total match mins
1-week WAS
retention
Revenue
ACTION
New
Time for
completion
Chats
chat starts / no. of
number exchanged
Feature
Drop off rate for
users after getting
5 matches
Subscription
model
revenue
Retained
COMPELTION
Reactivated
Chats
Feature
chat starts / no. of
dates
Drop off rate for
users before
getting 5 matches
1 time
purchase
model
revenue