What Is the Signals Badge on Hinge?

Signals is a badge Hinge shows next to a dater's name when their recent activity reflects thoughtful participation. That means things like looking at a page properly before liking it, adding comments to likes, reviewing incoming likes, messaging matches and confirming dates. You cannot buy it, and Hinge says subscribing to Hinge+ or HingeX does not affect who is eligible. The habits it rewards are the same ones that turn likes into dates, which makes it worth understanding even if you never think about the badge again.

Hinge describes Signals as a way to recognize daters who show thoughtfulness and follow-through. When the badge is active, it means two things: the dater's recent activity reflects that kind of participation, and their page meets the feature's baseline requirements.

It is not permanent. Hinge says eligibility is decided on a regular basis, so the badge can appear and disappear over time. Its status is based on the last 30 days of activity and refreshes daily, though it does not update in real time.

Hinge says you may see the badge next to another dater's name in the Discover feed, in Standouts, in your Matches tab and in Chat. Hinge+ and HingeX subscribers who have the feature may also see it in their Likes You view.

Not everyone sees it. Hinge's help page says daters without access to Signals will not see Signals badges.

There are two parts, and you need both.

The first is the baseline. Hinge asks for a complete page, with clear photos and thoughtful answers to your prompts. Your account has to be in good standing and meet Hinge's trust and safety requirements. The badge will not appear during your first week on Hinge, though Hinge says your activity counts from day one. And you have to complete Selfie Verification.

The second is thoughtful participation. Hinge lists five kinds of activity, and a badge needs a combination of them rather than every one:

• Look Before Liking. Reading a woman's prompts and scrolling past her first photo before you send a like.
• Sending Comments. Adding a comment when you like someone, so she knows what caught your attention.
• Reviewing your Likes. Working through incoming likes by accepting or skipping them, so nobody is left waiting.
• Messaging Matches. Reaching out after a match, and sending more than a single message across several conversations.
• Confirming Your Date. Planning a date on Hinge and letting Hinge know whether you met, which is what its We Met check-in is for.

Tap the photo icon in the lower right corner of the app. Under Get More, tap Check Your Signals. That opens your Signals hub. It shows whether your badge is active, along with general information about the kinds of activity that decide eligibility.

Hinge's announcement of the feature says daters can choose, in settings, whether their own Signals badge shows on their page.

It is hard to think of a good reason to switch it off. The badge tells a woman that you read pages, answer people and follow through, which is exactly the reassurance most women on the apps are looking for. If you have it, let it show.

Paying does not buy the badge. Hinge is explicit that an active badge is based on participation, not subscription status.

What Hinge+ and HingeX add is a way to use Signals as a filter. Subscribers can sort their Discover feed to prioritize daters with an active badge. Hinge calls it a soft filter: it puts people with the badge first but may still show others, and it cannot be set to strict. Subscribers can also see which of their incoming likes carry the badge.

Hinge is careful about the limits. A Signals badge reflects in-app activity only. It is not a background check, and it confirms nothing about identity beyond Selfie Verification. Hinge also says it does not promise anything about a dater's character or intentions. It says nothing about whether she will reply, or whether the two of you are a good fit.

The reverse is true as well. Hinge says a missing badge should not be read as a reflection of a dater's worth or dating goals. Plenty of women worth talking to will not have one.

Look at the five behaviors again and they read like a short course in using a dating app well.

Read her whole page before you like it, because you cannot write a good comment about a page you skimmed. Comment on something specific, because a like with a line that proves you read her page gives her something to answer. Deal with your incoming likes instead of letting them pile up. Message your matches, and keep the conversation going rather than sending one line and waiting. Then move toward a real date: a place, a day, a time.

That last step is where most men stall. They wait for the perfect moment and the conversation drifts. Suggest the plan once she is replying warmly and quickly. Do that consistently and the badge tends to take care of itself. More to the point, so do the dates.