Hinge tests new feature stopping you from making new connections as app tries to stamp out common problem
DATING app Hinge is testing a new feature that stops users from making new connections before they reply to their previous matches.
It’s designed to quell a common problem most online daters have faced at least once in their quest for love.
It’s an anti-ghosting tool called ‘Your Turn Limits’.
“As Hinge is the dating app designed to be deleted, the team is committed to getting its users off their phones and onto great dates,” Hinge said in a statement.
It’s designed to shift daters focus on from quantity of matches to quality of connections.
Ghosting is when a conversation or relationship ends with someone suddenly vanishing – or slowly withdrawing – with no explanation.
It leaves daters with a horrible feeling, and as a result, Hinge has dubbed itself the anti-ghosting app.
Hinge developed the new tool after a study revealed users were feeling deflated after their messages were repeatedly left on ‘read’.
Nearly half of Hinge daters said a lack of responsiveness was their biggest challenge when it came to meeting new people.
With the ‘Your Turn Limits’ tool test, users who have eight or more matches waiting for a reply will receive a ‘Your Turn’ reminder.
“Your Turn reminds users when it’s their turn to respond in a conversation — which helps reduce accidental ghosting as users explore each connection,” Hinge explained.
Users who receive a Your Turn alert will be forced to either respond to their match, or end the conversation.
Otherwise, they will not be able to match with anyone new.
What is Hinge?
Hinge is a dating app that is best known for being geared towards actual relationships, rather than hookups.
Users create a personal page decorated with funny quips, pictures and even voice messages in response to a variety of prompts.
While Tinder matches based on swipes, and Bumble is based on women making the first move – Hinge matches people based on likes, comments and an award-winning algorithm.
It also offers special features like Roses (or Superlikes) which indicate greater interest in a potential match.