Starting October 16, Hinge users will have a brand-new way to interact with the dating app, and to verify that they actually went on their dates. The company is releasing a new feature called We Met, which allows users to anonymously say whether or not they met up with a match and whether or not their match is the type of person who warrants date number two.
In the future, the data collected from users' answers will help Hinge recommend better matches, the company says. Here's how it works: A few days after a Hinge user exchanges numbers with a match, they'll be asked if they met the person. If they respond yes, they'll then be asked, "Is [date's name] the type of person you'd like to see again?" Users answer yes or no (there's no option to add comments), and then the app banks that as data for recommending future matches.
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Think of it like your Netflix feed. If you're the type of person who rates every movie or TV show you've ever seen, then Netflix has a better idea of what movies to suggest you watch next. Theoretically, We Met will work the same way, except instead of offering you cult classic horror movies featuring a strong female lead, the app will know if you're more into brunettes who love to read or red heads who go hiking every weekend. The more often you interact with We Met, the better the app can suggest new matches. "If you like someone and people who like that person also like this other person, we'll show you the other person as well," says Justin McLeod, the founder and CEO of Hinge.
The logic seems pretty intuitive, and is pretty easy to use (just two yes or no questions), but users have the option to opt out of We Met if they're not interested. When the screen pops up to ask if they've met one of their matches, they'll have the option to click something like "don't ask me," and We Met won't bother them again.
The feature will also address the kind of bad behavior that sometimes happens on dates with someone you met online, like harassment or sexism. When users say "no" to the second question, indicating that they wouldn't want to see the person again, they're given the option to report them, McLeod says. Hinge says that 2% of its members are ever reported for being disrespectful.
"We did some surveying and we found that, generally, if people didn't like each other it was just a matter of what people would consider chemistry and good conversation," McLeod says. In beta testing of We Met, 90% of Hinge users said that their first date was great, and 72% said they'd go on a second date. "“We live in a data driven world," one of the beta testers said. "Everything from fitness to financial decisions are made using data collected in various fashions. If data can help my love life, I’m happy to oblige!”