Hinge is a dating app for everybody, but its latest update is aimed specifically at queer and trans folks’ dating needs.
The industry-first feature, called Match Note, was inspired specifically by trans daters: Hinge worked with trans community organization TransTech Social to learn what trans folks wanted from dating apps, and learned that they wanted ways to share personal topics — including pronouns, sexual compatibility details, and what they were looking for in a partner — without putting them directly on their profiles or repeating them over and over with different matches.
Enter Match Note, which lets users write a message that’s shown to new matches before messaging begins. It appears after both users have liked each other: If one user has a Match Note, the other must view and acknowledge it to make the match official and start the conversation. Or, if the Match Note changes your mind about a potential match, you can unmatch then and there before ever exchanging messages.
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Hinge advertised some hypothetical Match Note examples, including a user letting matches know his preferred position in the bedroom, a trans man reminding potential dates about his pronouns, and a dater emphasizing their need for monogamy right off the bat.
While testing the feature before its launch, Hinge surveyed LGBTQ+ users for their thoughts on Match Notes. 70% of queer folks who tried the feature said they felt it improved their ability to determine compatibility with matches. That figure was even higher for trans users specifically, with 83% responding positively to Match Note.
Hinge also notes the feature’s usefulness for daters of other demographics, including disabled folks, parents, and sober daters.
“Hinge aims to empower all daters to express themselves authentically, so creating an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and identities is incredibly important to us. We look to our users and community experts to understand how Hinge can better support their unique needs,” Jackie Jantos, chief marketing officer at Hinge, said in a press release. “Match Note serves an important role for people from underrepresented groups while giving all daters on Hinge a new way to connect more intentionally with each other.”
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