There is no trick that tricks Hinge, and a man who tries one tends to lose his account instead of gaining matches. What you can do is feed it better information. Hinge says its algorithm learns from your activity. So like fewer women, on purpose. Widen the filters you can live with. Then make a page that earns likes back.
Why "beating" it is the wrong goal
Hinge describes its recommendation system as one that is always learning about you and your preferences. It is trying to guess who you would like and who would like you back. It is not guarding a secret gate that a clever man can pick.
That changes the job. The question is what the system sees when it looks at you. It sees who you like, who you skip, what your photos and prompts say, and how other men and women respond to the same page.
a dating coach makes a similar point about every app. Each one has its own quirks, and the men who do best test the apps and then give the winner honest signals instead of looking for loopholes.
Give it time and a steady signal
Hinge tells new users to give it time. The system needs some of your activity before its suggestions fit you.
That means the first few days are a poor test. A man who joins, likes forty women in a panic, gets little back, and declares the algorithm broken has really run one noisy experiment. Use the app a little each day, on purpose, and judge it after a stretch of normal behavior rather than one frantic evening.
Like fewer women, on purpose
Hinge says it suggests liking profiles you feel would be a good match rather than liking a greater quantity. Read that as an instruction. Every like is a vote that teaches the system what you want.
If you like everyone who is pretty and tap through the rest, the system learns that you want pretty. If you like women you could picture spending a Saturday with, it learns something sharper. Quality likes also help in a second way. A woman who sees a thoughtful like on a specific photo or prompt answer is more likely to like you back.
Stop liking out of boredom. If you would not want to meet her, skip her.
Make your page worth a like
Hinge's own photo research says photos that show your interests, candid photos and smiles tend to get more Likes. Selfies, especially bathroom or mirror selfies, filtered photos, sunglasses and group photos tend to get fewer.
Hinge also says fun prompt answers that say something about you are more likely to get engagement from like-minded daters. A prompt answer that gives her something to react to beats one that could belong to anyone.
This part is where most men have the most room to improve, because it does not depend on the app at all. A better lead photo and three prompt answers with some personality improve your results on Hinge and every other app. If your page is the weak link, no setting on earth fixes it.
Widen what you can
Hinge lets you widen preferences, including the option called Show profiles outside of this preference. Hinge says widening lets you see more profiles and lets more people see you.
The second half of that sentence matters. Every filter you tighten also shrinks the number of women who can see you. Keep the ones that are truly non-negotiable for you and loosen the rest, such as a few extra years on either side of your age range or a few more miles of distance.
Use the free daily recommendation
Hinge sends one Most Compatible recommendation per day. It is based on mutual preferences, recent activity and shared tastes in who you and others tend to like. It is a free, daily pick.
Treat it as a real option. It takes a few seconds, and a woman the system chose for both of you has at least some reason to be interested. a dating coach has used it for conversations he starts himself, which is a fair reminder that you do not have to wait to be liked.
What loses
Hinge says that autoswipers, bots, scrapers and other automation software violate its Terms of Use and can get an account banned. That includes the tools that promise to like for you.
They also work against the advice above. A tool that likes everyone teaches the system nothing useful about you. The cheap shortcut costs you the account, and then you cannot create a new one.
The slower route is the one that works. Give the system time, like women you want, widen what you can afford to widen, and put real effort into the photos and prompts she actually reads.
Written by Matthew Stevens, Co-Founder & Head Coach. More than half a decade coaching men across the US and worldwide.
Everything here comes out of real coaching work: the approaches, dates, texts and profiles we go through with the men we coach.