Match Group

Dating app Hinge is taking after OkCupid by collecting its user data and publishing results that might help people better connect. The latest report outlines the best pick-up lines among users of its app – and as it turns out, the way to a woman’s heart might just be through her stomach.

To conduct the survey, Hinge recruited copywriters and data analysts to compose 100 original openers, and sent them to 22 percent of Hinge users, who were then given the option of sending these openers to their matches. After studying eight million impressions, trends began to emerge. Some were expected - daters who want to connect should definitely avoid generic statements like 'Hey, what's up?' as an opening line, for example. The data was refined and categorized to give more in-depth info about who was responding—including their gender, age, and location across the U.S.

Results of the month-long experiment showed the most effective conversation starters for women include food references. For instance, a guy could ask a question like: “Chocolate, red velvet, or funfetti?” referring to cupcake preferences, or “Best discovery: Netflix or avocados?” for example. Hinge noted that “women are 40% more likely than men to respond to openers that are food-related.”

Men were most responsive when asked out directly, and particularly if those messages were assertive (the types of messages most women don’t like, which should be noted). For instance, if a woman put herself out there and confidently asked “Drinks soon?” or “Free this week?” men were 98% more likely to respond favorably.

Males were also found to have shorter attention spans: If they don’t receive a response to a message within six hours, a quarter of them will drop out of sight, compared with only five per cent of women.

As far as age groups, the 35 and older crowd prefers pop culture references. For instance, they responded best to “Katy Perry or Taylor Swift?” or “Bears, beets, or Battlestar Gallactica?” The 20-somethings preferred introductions about lifestyle with lines like: “Better adventure: Rock climbing or scuba diving?” or “Sunday priorities: Exercise, sleep or aggressive mimosas?” The 18-23 age group seemed to prefer novelty questions like: “Pain reliever personality: Advil, Tylenol or complaining?” and “You’re having your portrait painted – what’s your backdrop?”

Regional responses varied too, with folks in Los Angeles preferring entertainment-related questions (no surprise), and users in the Mid-West liking the 90’s references.

Hinge connects people through Facebook circles, and is available for both Android and iPhone. For more on Hinge, you can read our review.

It looks like Tinder has swiped left on its latest CEO Chris Payne, and is asking co-founder Sean Rad to take control once again of running the company behind the infamously popular dating app. Rad will re-assume his position as CEO and Greg Blatt, Chairman of Match Group, will assume the newly created position of Executive Chairman of Tinder. Match Group is the parent company of online dating brands that include some of the most successful dating sites, including Tinder, Match.com and OkCupid.

Payne, a former eBay and Microsoft executive, is leaving the company after only five months as CEO. While Match Group originally hired him because of his experience, hoping to bring more corporate strategic thinking to the company, Rad remained the face of Tinder in the news thanks to his part in the app’s early success and his outspoken manner. (At the time, it didn’t help that he was embroiled in a sexual harassment lawsuit by former employee Whitney Wolfe, founder of new female-friendly dating app Bumble.)

For now, Payne seems to be content with the decision for him to step down. "I enjoyed my time at Tinder but we mutually determined that this wasn't going to be optimal and thought that a quick transition served everybody best," said Mr. Payne in a statement. "I think Tinder's going to be an incredible company." 

Website Mashable (who reported Tinder’s executive shake-up) has linked the decision to re-establish Rad in the CEO position as part of Match Group’s financial strategy. The company plans an initial public offering later this year. According to Blatt, the dating industry has come a long way since the company’s inception, but the category remains “underpenetrated.”

Tinder introduced a new premium paid service earlier this year, offering extra perks like the ability to go back and change a previously rejected profile or giving users more profiles to swipe per day. One analyst predicted Tinder’s valuation would top $1 billion in 2015.

For now, the company and Rad are focused on the future. "I'm committed to continuing to drive Tinder's growth and to make Tinder one of the great businesses of our time," said Mr. Rad. "I look forward to working closely with Greg to make that happen."

"It's only been a few months, but there was mutual agreement here that it was not the right long-term fit, and given Tinder's rapid growth trajectory both Christopher and the Board thought prompt action was best for everyone," said Matt Cohler, of Benchmark, a Tinder director. "We appreciate Christopher's work here and wish him well in future endeavors."

An article in last month’s Vanity Fair attacked apps like Tinder as being promoters of hook-up culture among young daters. The article caused a wave of dialogue, backlash and upset, with many people wondering if dating apps were in fact “killing” the culture of dating and navigating relationships.

While technology has been blamed for bad behavior, dating app Hinge is aiming to distinguish itself from its popular and notorious competitor, Tinder. Instead of taking the bait and offering more Tinder-like services like many dating apps looking for success in this growing market, Hinge is taking the hook-up culture argument to heart. Instead of fighting the article's argument, the company is offering an update to its app in acknowledgment of the problem - with an “Intentions” feature.

The update offers a new profile page where users are encouraged up front to include their intentions for using the app, whether it’s to find a relationship, to date, or a casual hook-up. Hinge hopes that this gives more transparency in the online dating process.

According to Hinge, most of the people coming to its app are looking for something more serious than a hook-up. When the company surveyed 1,500 of its users, they discovered that sixty-three percent claim they are looking for relationships, 33% for dating, and only 2% for hook-ups.

The company’s last update called out daters who weren’t being truthful about being single, which has also caused an uproar among Tinder users. (A survey earlier this year found that more than 40% of Tinder users were already in a relationship.) Hinge now publishes each user’s relationship status (that the user shares on Facebook), so there’s no mistaking whether or not a user is single.

The company also added a new feature in August called HingePerks for its most dedicated users, offering discounts and contests for things like trips, ball games, and drinks. The first promotion was a free “staycation” at a Starwood Hotel with a spa service included. They have also offered concert tickets for social media participation (including liking on Facebook, tagging and sharing), as well as a free bottle of wine for the Hinge couple that posts a fun photo on Instagram.

Since its inception, the company has focused on its primary user base – young professionals, another way to distinguish itself from Tinder, which got its start on college campuses and whose demographic skews a bit younger than Hinge’s. In the last month, Hinge has promoted their “most eligible” male and female users according to profession, offering basic profile information. Hinge also asks their most embarrassing date moment and greatest career accomplishment to date.

Whether Hinge's strategy succeed in this competitive dating app market is yet to be seen. But it does offer daters a more interesting and engaging alternative to the dating app experience. For more on this dating app, please check out our review of Hinge.

Just when you thought you'd mastered the swipe left and the swipe right, Tinder throws a curve ball into your love life: a swipe up.

Meet the 'Super Like,' a brand new feature that takes the grand romantic gesture into digital territory. By swiping upwards on a potential date instead of left or right, you can show them that you're interested – like, super interested – before they decide which way to swipe on your profile.

After Super Liking someone, a blue banner declaring “So-and-so super liked you!" will appear underneath your name and age in their list of matches. If the attraction is mutual, the super-swiper will have a blue star next to their name in your list of matches.

Super Liking is not something to take lightly. Each user gets a limited number of Super Likes per day – only one – so use them wisely.

"Because they're so limited in number, a Super Like, or a 'swipe up', sends a more powerful signal, conveying an especially high level of interest," Tinder CEO Sean Rad told Engadget. "People like to know that someone finds them special, and we think this will lead to even better matches."

Tech analysts have dug deeper into the intention behind the new feature. Many believe the Super Like was introduced because Tinder has deviated from its original purpose. Instead of using the app to find real dates, many are using it only to kill time. Super Like may help restore Tinder's lost value.

“I can't help feeling the fact that Tinder has to keep imposing limits on swiping and adding features to encourage selective swiping suggests the swiping system is feeling the strain,” writes Rich Trenholm for CNET. “With many profiles complaining their matches never actually chat with them, it seems the Super Like is an attempt to restore some of the weight of a match.”

Tinder has celebrated the arrival of the Super Like with a cinematic superhero-themed advertisement featuring models Erin Heatherton and Nina Agdal (see below). The feature will launch first in Australia and is slated to roll out globally later this year.

Alongside the Super Like, Rad has also stated that the Tinder Plus version will launch soon. The new version limits the number of right swipes a user can make in a 24-hour period, and introduces Undo and Passport options. These advanced settings will be available for a monthly fee.

For more on this dating app your can read our review of Tinder.

The dating app market is flooded, so new companies entering the field and looking to make their mark have to differentiate themselves. For some app developers, it’s taking a female-centric approach, like with Bumble. Others look to social networking connections to make people feel more secure about meeting strangers, like Coffee Meets Bagel or Hinge.

The latest grab for online daters’ attention comes in the form of creating a dating app that is as exclusive as possible.

In other words, a new crop of apps are taking a completely different approach from acquiring the most users, like with Tinder. The success of an online dating company or app has always been evaluated by how large its database of users is. But these apps are banking on another measure of success - that is, how coveted the app is. They are driving demand for the app, and then being selective about who gets to use it.

Tired of Tinder and endless swiping that leads nowhere? While the dating app is popular, it’s leaving most online daters a little cold. Many come across fake profiles, or they match with someone only to have them disappear before actually meeting in person. And then there is the whole hook-up reputation.

So what is an online dater to do? New dating apps like The Grade and Bumble are setting out to alleviate online dating fatigue by putting their resources into creating more quality matches, so users can have a better overall experience. Specifically, these apps analyze and the behavior of their own members, so other users can see how they rate.

Bumble, founded by former Tinder co-founder Whitney Wolfe, aims to give power back to female daters. Bumble only allows the woman to reach out and make the first move – not the guy. So she is in control of the dating experience. A recent article in International Business Times revealed that a new feature Bumble will be rolling out is a verification program called “VIBee” -- a system that rewards users with a badge if they have good behavior on the app. The feature will aim to discourage users from nonstop swiping (left or right), and from spam messaging. If a match sees you have the badge, you’re more likely to be contacted – or so the thinking goes.

The Grade operates in a similar fashion, and as the name suggests – grades people on their behavior while using the app. The grading system is three-fold: you are "graded" based on how complete your profile is, how long it takes you to respond to messages, and the quality of the messages you send. In other words, the app will analyze message quality, including length, spelling mistakes, slang and hostile words and then assign you a letter grade, like in school. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really check context, so while some words might be “red flags” in certain contexts but not others, you could be penalized for using them at all.

Founders of The Grade pride themselves on the fact that they are weeding daters out based on how they behave. With about 100,000 downloads of The Grade so far, approximately 1,000 have been expelled and 2,000 are in danger of “failing.”

Cliff Lerner, founder of The Grade, told International Business Times: “We’re not saying we’re going to take on Tinder. We don’t want every user. All of our users are going to be high quality and accountable for their behavior. A lot of people will be kicked off.”

Lerner’s app focused on the complaints he kept hearing from female online daters, who were asking for an app that allowed them to handle offensive or hostile messages from men. Most women who have online dated have encountered such messages from time to time, which has created a huge trust problem with online dating apps and services.

Behavioral monitoring might be the next Tinder after all, at least for female daters.