Contributed by: kellyseal on Thursday, January 30 2025 @ 01:19 pm
Last modified on Thursday, January 30 2025 @ 01:58 pm
Dating app Hinge posted some advice on its blog to guide users heading into the busiest season for dating apps, from New Year’s Day until Valentine’s Day.
Hinge advises users to embrace a concept called “Dating Forward,” which means to focus on intentional actions to create the love life you want. Hinge’s Director of Relationship Science, Logan Ury said in the post[*1] to give your profile a refresh, which includes updated photos, trying out a new prompt on its app, and including your dating intentions so there’s clarity about what you want in a relationship.
There are also other tips Ury offers for searching on dating apps, such as looking for potential in matches and agreeing to message and meet for a date to see where it goes before discounting them because they don’t match your ideal.
Ury also encourages singles to start conversations right away for the best chance of getting a response (usually this is within 24 hours of matching). It’s also good to message matches during times when there’s a lot of activity on the app, and noted that the best time is 9pm EST on Sunday.
One last piece of advice is to take advantage of the app’s Voice Notes feature and send more voice notes to capture attention, rather than just a message. Ury also advised to actually comment on user profiles if you find them intriguing, rather than just responding with a like or emoji.
January is an especially busy time for dating apps, mostly because the holiday season is over and New Year’s resolutions begin – including finding a new relationship. While dating apps have been flailing recently, this is a time when people gravitate to them. Dating app companies have seen the biggest spike in activity and messages among users from New Year’s Day through Valentine’s Day, with the busiest day typically being Sundays.
Last year Hinge reported a 27 percent increase in likes sent on Dating Sunday (the first Sunday of January), and a 29 percent rise in messages sent, according to Fast Company[*2] . Tinder also saw a 15 percent increase in likes on Dating Sunday, as well as an uptick in messages over the app.
“The new year marks a shift from one chapter to the next and offers us the opportunity for a reboot,” Moe Ari Brown, Hinge’s love and connection expert, wrote in Hinge’s blog post. “For daters looking for connection, the New Year energy also brings hope, promise for renewal, and fresh starts to their dating lives.”