Why Hinge app is ‘the relationship app’ for lesbians and bi women

Hinge calls itself ‘the relationship app’, and they’ve got the stats to back it up, apparently 75% of Hinge’s first dates lead to second dates. Founded in 2012, the community of people looking for real connections combines the casual feel of Tinder with the deeper vibe of Match. It’s obvious with a lot of dating apps (not naming any names) that they were designed with straight couples in mind and anything other than that is just something of a tag on. But Hinge is refreshing in that, despite it being for everyone, it almost feels like it was designed for female dating. Hinge could be the one where you find the one (who we are going to make up random names for throughout this article) if:

1. You’re looking for a girl who’s willing to put in a bit of effort

Hinge requires a little bit more effort than most other dating apps – but with more effort, you usually get more rewards. When you sign up (either via Facebook or phone number) you have to upload 6 photos (no more or no less) and answer three questions. There are dozens of questions to pick from, and they range from the lighthearted ‘Go-to karaoke song,’ to the more romantic, ‘The key to my heart is’. ‘On a Saturday at 2 am you can find me.’ Whatever way you want to present yourself, it’s likely there’s a question that lets you do it.

And your efforts in putting your profile together won’t go to waste. Holly can’t just simply like you, or swipe right, she’ll have to pick a specific picture or question to like. And when she likes it, she’ll have the option to respond or leave a comment. More often than not, this means you get rid of the awkward starts and go straight into chatting about something either of you is interested in.

You’ll also receive a notification when she initially likes something on your profile, so you can go straight in and see if the feeling’s mutual. No more swiping through 20 people and guessing who likes you!

2. You know what you want

Some of us have a type and almost all of us have some form of non-negotiables. And we shouldn’t be ashamed of that. Hinge lets you drill down on what you’re looking for from the start. So, if you want Giselle to be a Christian who smokes, supports the Labour Party, wants three kids, and has a Masters, then let Hinge know.

3. You need the odd reminder

We’ve definitely all done it – completely forgot to message back. It doesn’t matter how much you’re into Hannah, or how much you love your Mum, sometimes life gets a bit too busy. Hinge is probably the best app out there for reminders. It checks in with you when it’s your turn to message about a day after you read Hannah’s message. Great little prompt for you, and good to know that Hannah will be getting those prompts too, so if she’s not responding, it really is because she’s not interested. Goodbye to all the is she into me, isn’t she drama.

Related article: Top Dating Apps for Lesbians

4. You believe that 2+2 = Julia

Hinge has one of the tightest algorithms out there. So if you believe that a computer program can take a few answers to a few questions, do some calculations, and reveal that Julia’s on your level, then give it a try. Every so often you’ll get a ‘we think you should meet’ notification and it’s supposed to be someone with similar interests to you. More often than not, it makes you stop and think, and Hinge girls seem to be pretty open to trusting the computer.

5. You’re not into shoulder creepers

Sometimes it’s so obvious when someone on the train or sat next to you at work (we see you, we know you’re doing it) is on a dating app. A lot of people don’t mind others seeing, it is the way of the world nowadays, but others prefer to keep their swiping on the DL. If you’re a DL girl then Hinge is a good option. It doesn’t look like your typical dating app, one glance over someone’s shoulder and you probably wouldn’t know that they were flirting with Caitlyn. Maybe it’s the fact it’s set up a bit differently, the cool design, or because it’s not as universally known as some of the others. Whatever it is, it’s definitely useful.

Related article: Top Dating Apps for Bisexual Women

6. You’re bi and you want to see more of an even split

If you’re a bisexual woman using a dating app, it’s often more effective for you to switch between looking for women and looking for men regularly. This means you don’t have to go through 20 men to get to one woman like you often do the looking for both options. On Hinge, you can set it to looking for both and get a much more even distribution of both. Obviously, you’ll probably get more likes from men, but that’s just basic maths.

7. You love a good pun

There doesn’t seem to be any information out there on why it’s actually called Hinge, but there are so many great puns you could throw into the wedding speech. How about everything hinges on Sam? Or, Monica holds me together. Or even, Lisa’s love opened doors for me. There’s probably a good rhyme you could get in there too.

There are, of course, limitations to the app. Often, the deciding factor in opting for one dating app over another is where the biggest pool of available women is likely to be. At this point, it probably still is Tinder or HER, but as Hinge’s popularity grows, so will the number of women on there. Besides, we’d always advocate for quality over quantity.

All in all, Hinge is a pretty cool app for lesbian dating. It definitely does what it says on the tin – it’s a relationship app – so if you’re looking for casual it’s probably not for you, but if you’re looking to open the door (that’s on a hinge?) to love, then download it now and let us know what you think.

Hinge seemingly is the top in the UK for queer women at the moment, but the top young adults dating sites in America for queer women does seem to be HER Dating App.

Enjoy,

Team Nonchalant x