When Do Dating App Subscriptions Get Charged?

You are charged when you buy the plan, and again when each billing period ends, until you cancel. Tinder, Hinge and Bumble all renew subscriptions automatically. How often the charge lands depends on the plan length you picked, and where it comes from depends on whether you bought through Apple, Google or the app itself.

The length you choose sets the rhythm.

Hinge+ and HingeX come as weekly, monthly, three-month and six-month plans. The weekly and monthly plans bill every week or month. The three-month and six-month plans bill upfront and renew every three or six months.

That difference is what catches men. A weekly plan looks cheap on the screen and shows up on the statement again and again. A six-month plan is one larger charge that then comes around only twice a year.

Hinge subscriptions renew automatically. You are charged within 24 hours of the current period ending.

To avoid the next charge, turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the next billing period starts. A cancellation the same day the plan renews is usually too late.

Bumble subscriptions also renew automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date. You can see the renewal date in the Apple App Store, in Google Play, or under Subscription details inside the Bumble app.

If you subscribed through Google Play, you might see a small preauthorization charge before your renewal date. Bumble says this is only Google checking that the funds are available. It is not the renewal itself.

A Tinder subscription keeps renewing until you cancel it. Deleting the app or uninstalling it does not cancel one.

Tinder also tells you where to look. The order number shows who bills you:

• An order number starting with MK means Apple bills you.
• One starting with GPA means Google Play.
• One starting with TNDR means Tinder bills you directly.

You cancel in whichever place you bought, so the first job is to find out which of the three it was.

Canceling stops the next renewal. It does not stop the plan you have already paid for.

Bumble says that you can usually keep your paid perks until the end of the period you already paid for. Treat the same idea as a rule of thumb elsewhere, and check the screen of the app you use.

So the best moment to cancel is right after you buy, if you only want one period. You get the full period and no surprise at the end.

Run through these every time you buy a plan.

1. Note the plan length and which store you bought through.
2. Put the renewal date in your calendar with a reminder two days before.
3. Decide in advance what result would make you renew.
4. Cancel in the place you bought, at least a day before the date.
5. Check your statement the next month to confirm the charge did not come back.

The reminder does the most work. Men who forget are not careless. The charge simply arrives on a day when nothing about the app is on their mind.

The billing rhythm should match how long you will really be on the app.

A short plan makes sense if you want to test whether paid features change your results. A long plan only makes sense after a short one has shown you something worth keeping. A six-month plan bought on day one is a bet that you will still want it in the fifth month.

Be honest about the app, too. If you tend to use an app hard for a week and then drift, the best plan is the short one you cancel after a month.

Whatever the schedule, the charge buys reach. It does not make a woman more interested in the man she sees.

Get your photos and your first message right before the first charge lands. Then a paid month shows you what the extra reach is worth, rather than showing you the same weak results to a larger audience.