An Expert’s Guide to Getting More Matches on Hinge

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By Damona Hoffman, a dating coach, on-air personality, and bestselling author of “F the Fairy Tale”
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When dating apps work, they work —I should know; I met my husband on a dating app, and I’ve helped countless clients find love through the apps as well! But if you, like many others, find yourself scratching your head trying to understand why you’re not getting any matches on Hinge, that’s where I come in. I’m Damona Hoffman, dating coach, podcast host, and bestselling author of the book F the Fairytale . In this article, I’ll walk you through all the possible reasons you might find yourself matchless on Hinge and how to get more—and better—matches by updating your photos , prompt responses , and more, so you can make Hinge’s slogan— Designed to be deleted —a reality.

Want more frustration-free dating advice? Check out my website, DamonaHoffman.com , or follow me on Instagram @damonahoffman .

Reasons You Have No Matches on Hinge

  1. Your prompt responses aren’t interesting or specific enough.
  2. You need to update your photos.
  3. You’re not engaging with other users enough.
  4. Your profile isn’t giving off the right vibe.
  5. You’re preferences are too narrow.
  6. You’re prioritizing quantity of matches over quality.
Section 1 of 8:

Why You’re Not Getting Any Matches on Hinge

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  1. Before we launch into ways to strengthen your Hinge profile so you can reel in some cuties, let’s identify what the problem might be in the first place. Here are some of the most common reasons you’re not getting any matches:
    • Your profile isn’t as engaging as it could be. While there’s a lot of opportunity online, there’s also a lot of competition. If you’re not standing out, it’s likely that your photos and prompts aren’t specific enough to give users an idea of who you really are and what makes you unique.
    • You need to update your photos. Are your photos showing the best version of “you” they can, while still being honest about who you are?
    • You’re not engaging with others. Getting that first date isn’t just about having a great profile—it’s about how you talk to others. If you aren’t offering thoughtful comments on other users’ profiles, you’re not going to be as successful on the app as you could be.
    • Your profile isn’t giving off the right vibe. You might think your profile is great, but if you’re not thinking about how the person on the other side of the swipe perceives you, it might be landing the way you intended.
    • Your preferences are limited. You might be shooting yourself in the foot if you’re sticking with specific dealbreakers or a narrow age range or dating radius.
    • You just need to give it more time. If you’re new to the app or don’t log in regularly, the algorithm might still be trying to “learn” which users are compatible with you.
    • You’re prioritizing quantity over quality. Are you focused on how many matches you can get, or how compatible those matches are with you?
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Section 2 of 8:

Updating Your Photos to Get More Matches

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  1. If you think your photos might be the issue here, it’s worth doing a quick audit of your profile—and maybe swapping out some photos that aren’t serving you (or your potential matches).
    • What type of photos should you include?
      • Solo shots: Group pictures—especially when they’re the primary photo—tend to confuse people looking at your profile. You’re the star: showcase you !
      • Magnetic photos: Photos that aren’t taken with online dating in mind often aren’t composed or well-lit, and they may not present you favorably. If you have the means, get a photo taken by a professional photographer. There are even dating app-specific photographers out there who know how to capture a vibrant, authentic vibe for a dating profile rather than make your pic look like a corporate headshot.
      • Shots where you’re smiling and looking at the camera: Pretty basic, but you wouldn’t believe how many people don’t include this.
      • Photos without sunglasses or hats: OK, sure, in one photo maybe, wear a hat and/or sunglasses, but avoid obscuring your face in your primary photo: your first pic should be as authentic and undisguised as possible.
      • A mix of (recent, unedited) face and full-body shots: Showing your best self doesn’t mean filtering photos, only taking photos from certain angles, or not showing full-body shots. Practically speaking, you’re unlikely to be able to keep up the charade if you meet a match IRL, and they might feel duped, so embrace your real, authentic self, filter- and angle-free!
    • What type of photos should you avoid?
        • Photos of just* animals:** We know, you love your dog. But this is not your dog’s Hinge profile. This is your Hinge profile. Include, at maximum, one photo of you with a pet—but no photos of just pets. And no dead animals, either: if you love fishing or hunting, include a photo of you with your fishing rod by the river or of you in the woods in your hunting gear, but photos of dead fish or other animals can be off-putting.
        • Photos of just* your car:** Similar to the no-pets thing—people really want to see photos of you , not your vehicle.
      • Posed, corny photos: Dating profile photos have to have the right mix of approachable and real. If you look like you’re trying too hard, potential matches can tell and they’ll pass.
  2. Marketing yourself effectively comes down to looking at your profile from the perspective of the person swiping. Don’t just focus on what you think of your profile, and certainly not on what AI tells you to put on your profile. Instead, approach your profile using what I like to call the 3 Cs (this comes from my book, F the Fairytale ): color, context, and character. The 3 Cs is a strategy for curating your profile photos to attract other users’ attention:
    • Color: If your first photo doesn’t stand out in some way, your potential soulmate is going to keep swiping. Wearing color in your first photo is one way to attract the eye. And that’s the first goal: to grab their attention with the primary photo and make them want to go through the rest of your profile.
    • Context: Context means telling your story through your photos. What is your first prompt? What is your next picture? What is your second prompt? What is your next picture? How do your photos complement or respond to the prompts you choose? Think of it as a curated narrative, flowing from that very first photo to the last prompt in your profile.
    • Character: Character is about using photos to showcase your personality, your weird side, your quirky side, or your straight-up nerdy side. Include at least one photo that shows that you don't take yourself too seriously (or that you do take yourself really seriously, if that’s your thing!). Your “character” photo is that personality piece that a lot of people miss. Don’t let the fear of not being “picture-perfect” in every shot get in the way of expressing your authentic self!
    • Pro tip: Do not let AI choose the best photo for you. Why? Because it’s going to choose the one that gets the most activity, but not necessarily the most compatible matches.
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Section 3 of 8:

Using Hinge Prompts to Attract Better Matches

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  1. Think of using a dating app as marketing yourself for the relationship that you want. When I do an audit of a client’s profile, I ask myself: What is the message of their profile? I encourage you to ask yourself the same question: What do you want to convey to the person on the other side of the swipe? You have limited space to leave an impression, but you can say a lot in only a couple of lines. Make ’em count! Here are some pro tips to keep in mind as you audit and revise your Hinge prompt answers to showcase your most authentic self:
    • Employ keyword stacking. Dating app algorithms run on keywords. It’s honestly not magic! The algorithm wants to match you with people that you're going to like, and who are going to like you, so if you add a keyword (like “motorcycle” or “ The Hobbit ” or “ Cowboy Carter ”) to your profile, they’re going to try to show your profile to people with similar keywords in their profiles.
      • Will this limit your possible matches? Yes. It will limit them to the most compatible users. Sometimes, less is more! It's all about connection and quality over quantity.
    • Prioritize authenticity over relatability. I’ve seen profiles that say things like, “I’m just as comfortable in a pair of sweats as I am in a pair of heels.” Are you, though? Probably not. There is no danger in being too specific, because what you’re doing is signaling to the people who are the right match for you, Hey, I'm unique .
      • Did you know? Being polarizing actually leads to more dates than being in the middle. When you're in the middle, you're forgettable. Back when OKCupid used to have profiles ranked, the people who were ranked ones by some users and fives by others actually had more dates than the people who were consistently ranked threes. People see a unique profile and think, Oh, this isn't just another person online. This person really connects for me!
  2. Maybe you “can’t believe you're on a dating app.” Maybe you “never thought you’d meet your soulmate on Hinge, but here we are.” Maybe you’re losing faith in the algorithm, or in dating, or in [insert gender of your last ex]. Do not say this stuff on your profile. Yes, your profile should be authentic, but it should also be the best version of yourself.
    • If you have an impulse to add “Don’t contact me if…” to your profile, resist it. You have limited real estate here, so you want the impression people get from your profile to be that you’re positive and friendly, not negative.
  3. Every year, Hinge releases their most popular prompts from the last 12 months. It’s my suspicion that using the most popular prompts will boost you in the algorithm. In any case, responding to the same ol’ prompts that everyone else is replying to gives you an opportunity to showcase what's different and special about you.
  4. The voice prompts are still a little awkward for people, but I feel like when people do use them, it results in better quality matches. Why? It's a shortcut to connection. Sometimes it gets clients fewer matches, but they’re more compatible, meaning everyone wastes less time on the wrong person.
    • If you're going to do a voice prompt, don't just do it off the cuff. Be mindful of everything that's going on your profile. It’s like your résumé—you wouldn’t improvise your résumé, right?
    • Instead, think about the prompt that you choose, and bullet out what you want to say. Maybe even practice saying it a couple of times—but don’t memorize every word; you want it to sound natural and organic.
    • Remember, attraction isn’t just about the face and the body. It's also the voice, the intonation, the word choice. This all signifies a lot about who you are, your upbringing, what you're like, and how you would be in conversation.
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Section 4 of 8:

Adjusting Your Preferences to Get Higher-Quality Matches

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  1. My philosophy has always been not to focus too much on what you're looking for. Some people are limiting their pool by having really specific preferences selected, but experimenting with your preference settings is a strategic technique. It can work for two reasons: first, we don't really know what we're looking for, and second, if your profile isn’t working, playing with your settings may get you different results.
    • For some people, expanding their preferences yields a wider dating pool; others find success limiting their preferences even more because it can yield a more concentrated group of matches. Just fiddle with it and see what works!
    • I’ll ask my clients, “What would happen if you added 5 years to your age preferences, or if you added 5 miles to your radius?” Usually, this opens up more options!
    • The apps, including Hinge, use what I call fuzzy matching , meaning that even if you have specific preferences set, the algorithm might still show you people that don’t quite line up in some areas if they match well in other areas or have matching keywords in their profiles.
    • Only change one thing at a time. Rather than overhauling your profile, just tweak, say, your primary photo, your age range preferences, or your radius. That will help you narrow down what the problem with your profile is.
  2. I strongly encourage people not to use dealbreakers unless they absolutely know they need to (like, if you have certain religious beliefs or political values, or if you have kids and need to date someone who’s OK with that). Why? Because we often don't really know what we want—and we also don’t know what dealbreakers are set in stone.
    • For instance, I had a client who was vegan and who listed eating meat as a dealbreaker on her profile. Once she removed that, she met a man who eats meat, but who loved her so much, he agreed to give it up for her. The power of love!
    • I encourage my clients to identify only three must-haves and one dealbreaker. We can write dealbreakers until the cows come home. But if you are really focused on the things that are most important to you, it helps you filter your matches a lot more easily. I find that most people haven't even clarified their must-haves!
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Section 5 of 8:

Using Hinge Intentionally to Get More Compatible Matches

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  1. A lot of times, people will sign on to the app, swipe through a few matches, have a disappointing experience, and then they'll stop for a while. Usually, that happens in the first two or three weeks of using the app—sometimes even less. But you are programming the algorithm by simply logging in and swiping. So, when you remove yourself from the app and wonder why you don’t have any good matches, it’s because you haven't used the tool regularly enough for the app to know what to give you. The solution? Create a schedule, and commit to it.
    • For instance, you might commit to checking Hinge for 15 minutes every day. Too much longer and you run the risk of getting overwhelmed or discouraged.
    • Truncating the amount of time you spend on the app prevents you from falling into endless swiping sessions, meaning you’ll get better results and feel better while you’re doing it. Remember, you swipe in the emotional state that you’re in.
    • I also have my clients keep notifications off because that can really boost anxiety, getting the notifications all the time.
    • Pro tip: The time when most users are online is after work, between 7 and 10 p.m. local time.
  2. And I don’t just mean sending likes—I mean sending specific messages . “Hey” won’t cut it. My personal formula is “comment + question.” You comment on something that you saw on their profile, whether it's a photo or a prompt, and then you follow up with a question.
    • For instance, “Your trip to Italy looks amazing. What's the best thing that you ate while you were there?” Bingo: you're already engaging with them about something that they care about enough to post in their profile, and asking the question jumpstarts a conversation, almost as if you’re already friends.
    • If all you do is offer generic likes or emojis, your match will think, I don't have anything to go on here . And then they just end up saying something like, “How's your day?” or “What do you do?” Pretty boring.
    • Pro tip: Women who date men and who initiate conversations are more likely to end up with a date than men who initiate.
  3. You're going to see attractive people, but what the app does in that first week is push their most popular profiles to you, because they want to keep you as a customer. You see all those hot people and think, Wow, if these are the sort of people on this app, this is the app I want to be on. And then a week later, you're like, What happened to the girl with a Harvard degree who's a size zero and running in a bikini? She's gone.
    • The thing is, she may or may not actually be on the app. That's one of the dirty little secrets about dating apps: there are a lot of inactive profiles, but if they're popular profiles, the algorithm will still feed them to you.
    • After that first week or so, though, if you’re logging in regularly, the algorithm will adjust to your preferences, and they’ll start sending you more tailored—and real—accounts.
  4. Hinge offers a few different subscription packages, and in my experience, Hinge Plus is effective. I generally will have clients pay for a one-month or a three-month subscription package—committing to more time usually ends up costing less, and in my experience, it takes about three months of strategic dating to find someone you want to date exclusively on a dating app.
    • I think it's worthwhile to commit to a three-month period, but you can even pay by the week. You're going to pay more per day, but just try it out and see if you get better matches.
    • What I want to get people out of is the idea that they shouldn’t have to pay for a dating app, because that stops a lot of people from actually getting the result that they want from the dating app. And remember, dating apps are businesses, and they do need to make money somehow!
    • Hinge X does offer you more features than Hinge Plus, but if they aren’t features you’ll use, it will end up wasting your money. Only pay for the benefits that will save you time, money, or stress.
  5. Here’s a dark web tip for you: if you go to your settings and you go down to “Cancel Account,” you'll get a pop-up that says, “Why do you want to leave?” Choose the option that says something like, “I'm not seeing any matches that I like.” And then they'll say, “Do you want to reset your match history?” And if you say yes, it'll keep your DMs, but it will wipe your swipe history, which will repopulate you for a lot of people who may have seen you and swiped left.
    • In order for this to actually work, you have to at least change your primary photo. Otherwise, you’ll go back in the queue and have the same result, because people will say, I already saw this profile , and just swipe left again.
    • A word of caution: If you do this, you have to then program the algorithm again from scratch, because you’ve now erased all of your swiping history. The algorithm needs to relearn how to guess who you would be a match with. For this reason, I would first make other changes to my profile before I do something as drastic as resetting my algorithm .
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Section 6 of 8:

Have you been shadowbanned?

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  1. It really isn't. I know some people think that the algorithm is out to get them, but I promise you will not be banned without knowing it. If you're being investigated for complaints from other users, that could result in your profile not being visible—but you’d be informed if that were happening.
    • If you suddenly find you don’t have matches, and you haven’t been informed you’ve been banned, trust me: you’re not shadowbanned. You just need to update your profile or adjust the way you’re using the app.
    • Rather than vilifying the app and assuming they're intentionally keeping you from all the hottest baddies, get curious about what you could do differently using the tips above to boost yourself in the algorithm.
Section 7 of 8:

Hinge Match FAQs

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  1. 1
    Does not getting matches on Hinge mean you’re not attractive? No. I believe there's a match for everyone, but you've got to believe that you're dateable to be dateable, and you need to know how to highlight those things that make you great so that someone else can see it.
    • What I focus on when I'm helping people with their profile is figuring out what makes them special. What would make someone be attracted to you? How can you highlight that?
    • Whatever narrative you might be telling yourself—whether it’s that you need to lose weight to find a match or you need to be younger to find a match—I can tell you it’s probably false. And the more that you operate with that false narrative in your mind, the harder it becomes for you to get the energy to log on and actually make the match.
  2. 2
    Is it true that men have more trouble getting matches on Hinge than women? No, it’s not true at all. The truth is, there are far more men online than women, so there’s that. But I feel like men who date women have the idea that women are just drowning in matches, when most of the people who come to me for help are not in that position at all.
    • The people in the top 1% of attractiveness get 90% of the messages. But just because they have that number of messages, it doesn't make it easier for them to find someone compatible. It actually makes it a lot harder because then they have to sort through them, and then they just get overwhelmed and go offline.
    • And then for the other people who are getting the other 10% of matches, getting a match becomes less about how conventionally attractive they are and more about posting authentic and specific things. That’s what helps make connections—not how hot you are.
  3. 3
    What's the best dating app? I get asked this question a lot, and the answer is…there is no best dating app. But there might be an app that works best for you , so don’t be afraid to try different apps if Hinge isn’t working for you. But don’t blame the app if you’re not getting good matches: remember, your success on an app largely depends on how you use it.
    • Ask yourself, Do I like the people that I see on this app? Do I like (or at least not dread) using this app? For instance, if you don't enjoy the Hinge prompts, maybe you're better off on an app that doesn’t have prompts, like Tinder.
    • I have people also cycle through apps. You're not married to any one app. Give each app about a month, and then move to another app where you get a fresh profile boost. Then after a month, cycle back to the first app.
    • Pro tip: Try to only use one app at a time. You want to keep the momentum going, and I find it's easier to do when you're not spread too thin and you're just focused on one app at a time.
  4. 4
    How do you take a conversation off the app? You don’t! The date is the meal, and texting or following each other on social media before you even meet is like snacking in between meals. So by the time you get to the meal, you’re not even hungry anymore. Keep the communication on the app until after the first date, and keep the convo really focused on the end goal of getting to an in-person date. Any off-ramps are a distraction and a false sense of progression.
    • Texting might make you feel like you're getting to know this person or like they care about you, but you're not actually moving the relationship forward, because you don’t know each other.
    • Another reason to keep the convo on the app? Safety. Quite frankly, I'm very bullish about safety on dating apps.
  5. 5
    Can you at least stalk their social media? No! A dating profile is a curated version of your life, and so is social media. They have different purposes. And if you see another version of them on their Instagram, you might feel like you’re getting to know them better, but you’re actually just getting to know them in a different context, without the ability to discuss it in real time. That might give you reasons to say “no,” when you should be looking for reasons to say “yes.”
    • Sometimes, people are just so nervous about dating that they put in these little subconscious roadblocks for themselves and sabotage a potentially great relationship before it’s even started.
  6. 6
    What should you do on a first date? Don’t go to dinner—it takes too much time and too much money. It raises the stakes way too much if you’ve never met this person in real life. When you first meet someone you found online, your first date is really just the first layer of screening. So do something where the stakes are lower and there's less expectation, like:
    • Grabbing a cup of coffee or a drink. You can keep extending the date by ordering another round if you want, or skip out after one round if you’re not feeling it.
    • Going for a hike or a walk. An activity date is always nice because it gives you something to focus on. It’s also easier to feel relaxed around a new person when you don’t have to look directly at them.
    • If you can, choose a date that’s somehow related to what you’ve discussed in your DMs. This will make it feel more like a natural progression in your relationship.
    • Want to hear from your peers? Check out wikiHow’s forum on what to do for a first date to chat with other users like you about what makes a great first date.
  7. 7
    How long should you chat with a match before making a date? The best way to avoid the texting trap of just sending DMs that never materialize into dates is to seize the day and not let the conversation’s momentum fade out before you land a date. When somebody is online at the same time as you, it’s easier to start bantering with them in the DMs, and that's more likely to turn into a date than when you exchange a single message every day, or you’re never online at the same time.
    • Follow what I call the One-to-One Rule: once you’ve met online, the next step—whether it’s an in-person date or a video chat—should happen between one day and one week from the time that you matched. Otherwise, the likelihood of you actually meeting up starts to dissipate.
    • But you also don’t want to meet on the same day you match, because the likelihood of it actually being fulfilling and successful is slim, since you probably haven’t had enough time to really screen one another yet.
    • Essentially, you need enough time to get to know them, but not so much time that things fizzle out and don’t go anywhere.
    • Pro tip: I like to have a screening step in between matching and meeting in person, like a 15-minute video chat or phone call. I know, it's very throwback! But it's really useful to hear someone's voice in real time and to have a conversation. Maybe you’re thinking, That's for grandmas. Nobody does that . You’re right, nobody does that. And that's why so many people have trouble finding compatible matches.
  8. 8
    What do you say if you match with someone and realize you’re not interested? Just say, “It was really good to meet you.” A lot of times, people are afraid to say that they're not interested because they don't want to hurt the person's feelings. But I find that we put a lot of energy that we could devote to meeting our perfect matches towards worrying about hurting someone's feelings. In reality, the most compassionate thing you can do for someone you don’t vibe with is to give them their time and emotional energy back.
    • If you are interested, I would just say, “I'd love to continue this conversation over a drink or a hike,” and if you’re not, just be upfront about it—but kind, and brief.
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Section 8 of 8:

Final Thoughts

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  1. Your Hinge profile is a living document, so don’t just set it and forget it. Your profile is not meant to be created and then forgotten—it’s your tool for marketing yourself. Just like your résumé, you should regularly update your dating profile until you get the end goal you’re looking for. It can be overwhelming, but take it slow, and only change a few things at a time. And take breaks when needed—using the apps can be draining!
    • Remember that it’s not about how many matches you get, it’s about the quality of matches you get. In the end, you really only need one.

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      References

      1. ↑ https://mashable.com/article/hinge-top-prompts-cuffing-season

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