How Does Hinge Know If You Went on a Date? The We Met Feature

Hinge asks you. Its feature is called We Met, and according to Hinge's help center, a few days after you exchange phone numbers with a match, it asks if you went on a date and if your date is the type of person you'd like to see again. "Designed to be deleted" is Hinge's slogan for getting you off the app and onto dates, and We Met is one way it checks whether that happened.

Hinge's help center lays out two questions:

1. Did you go on a date?
2. Is your date the type of person you'd like to see again?

When the feature launched in 2018, Refinery29 reported that answers are yes or no, with no space for comments. Hinge's help center says that if you indicate you don't want a second date, it takes that into account when recommending new people to you.

Hinge treats the number swap as the signal that a match is moving off the app. The help center describes We Met as a way for Hinge to learn how your dates go after you move off the app. That's why the question shows up a few days after you share numbers, not after a plain chat.

If you plan the date inside Hinge and never swap numbers, don't count on the prompt appearing. Hinge's help page only describes the number exchange as the trigger.

Per the help center, if you haven't been on a date, you can update that any time through We Met in your Matches. Swipe the match's name to the left to reveal the options.

We Met also handles safety. Hinge's help center says that if your date is disrespectful in any way, you can report that person through We Met. From within the conversation, tap the three dots at the top right to see the options.

Nobody you matched with. Hinge's help center says any feedback you share through We Met is completely private, and that it will never share date feedback with existing or future matches. It says what it learns is only used to improve the algorithm and keep the community safe and respectful.

Hinge's stated reason is better recommendations. At the launch in 2018, CEO Justin McLeod told TechCrunch: "Ultimately, if you went on a date with someone and you thought they were great, that's the strongest signal that we've gotten very close to your type of person." TechCrunch also reported Hinge planned to combine the answers with other signals, such as users going inactive or deleting their accounts, to work out which dates turned into relationships.

That ties to Hinge's slogan, "designed to be deleted." The slogan describes a goal. Nothing gets deleted for you, and We Met is one way Hinge checks whether matches turn into real dates.

Answer honestly. The prompt only helps you if it reflects what you actually want. If you say a date was great and you'd see her again, you're telling Hinge to show you more people like her. If you say no, you're steering it away.

Don't expect the prompt to do the work of making a plan. It arrives after the number swap, so the plan is your job. A few habits still help you get to that first date:

• Comment on something specific in her profile instead of sending a plain like. A comment on a photo of her halfway up a mountain trail beats "you're gorgeous."
• Once she's replying with some energy, steer toward a specific day and place. "I know a good wine bar on my street. Thursday around 8?" is a real invitation. "We should hang out sometime" is not.
• Ask for her number once the chat is warm, not in your first line. Something simple works: "Easier to plan this over text. What's your number?"
• If she wants a little more chat first, keep it light and ask again in a day or two. A couple of days of good back and forth is plenty. Weeks of it is a pen pal.

Does Hinge know where I went? Its help center only describes asking you.

Will my match see my answer? No. Hinge says date feedback is never shared with existing or future matches.

What if the date was bad? Answer no to seeing the person again, and use the report option in We Met if they were disrespectful.

Hinge finds out by asking. Its We Met feature checks in a few days after you swap numbers, asks if you went on a date and if you'd see the person again, keeps your answer private, and uses it to improve who it shows you next.