<s>
Hinge	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
dating	B-Application
app	I-Application
that	O
claims	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
only	O
dating	B-Application
app	I-Application
that	O
emphasizes	O
long-term	O
connections	O
between	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
aimed	O
towards	O
a	O
younger	O
demographic	O
than	O
Match.com	O
and	O
eHarmony	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
demographic	O
using	O
Tinder	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
founder	O
and	O
CEO	B-Application
Justin	B-Operating_System
McLeod	I-Operating_System
(	O
alongside	O
a	O
team	O
including	O
Frances	O
Haugen	O
)	O
founded	O
a	O
desktop	O
service	O
called	O
Secret	O
Agent	O
Cupid	O
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
connect	O
to	O
Facebook	B-Application
and	O
list	O
which	O
of	O
their	O
friends	O
they	O
had	O
crushes	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Throughout	O
2012	O
,	O
this	O
became	O
a	O
mobile	O
application	O
called	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
launched	O
in	O
February	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
less	O
superficial	O
than	O
Tinder	B-Application
,	O
forgoing	O
Tinder-like	O
swiping	O
actions	O
and	O
branding	O
itself	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
relationship	O
app	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
gained	O
enough	O
users	O
to	O
sustain	O
the	O
business	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
nearly	O
ran	O
out	O
of	O
funding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Throughout	O
2017	O
,	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
received	O
more	O
mentions	O
than	O
any	O
other	O
dating	B-Application
app	I-Application
in	O
the	O
"	O
Weddings	O
"	O
section	O
of	O
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hinge	B-Operating_System
Matchmaker	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
September	O
2017	O
,	O
claiming	O
to	O
reinvent	O
online	O
dating	O
for	O
"	O
people	O
that	O
missed	O
out	O
on	O
the	O
dating	B-Application
app	I-Application
craze	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Match	O
Group	O
made	O
investments	O
in	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
as	O
early	O
as	O
September	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2018	O
,	O
Match	O
Group	O
acquired	O
51%	O
ownership	O
of	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
,	O
with	O
the	O
right	O
to	O
acquire	O
all	O
remaining	O
shares	O
within	O
a	O
year	O
,	O
and	O
came	O
to	O
own	O
100%	O
of	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
by	O
the	O
first	O
quarter	O
of	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	O
's	O
popularity	O
was	O
boosted	O
in	O
2019	O
when	O
U.S.	O
presidential	O
candidate	O
Pete	O
Buttigieg	O
revealed	O
that	O
he	O
had	O
met	O
his	O
husband	O
on	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
2019	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
started	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
Labs	O
to	O
research	O
successful	O
matches	O
and	O
fine-tune	O
the	O
app	O
's	O
compatibility	O
algorithm	O
and	O
other	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hinge	B-Operating_System
was	O
featured	O
on	O
CNET	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
dating	O
sites	O
for	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Presented	O
in	O
a	O
vertical	O
timeline	O
,	O
profiles	O
on	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
are	O
composed	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
six	O
pictures	O
,	O
alongside	O
three	O
self-selected	O
personal	O
prompts	O
which	O
encourage	O
users	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
personality	O
traits	O
rather	O
than	O
solely	O
appearance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hinge	B-Operating_System
allows	O
users	O
to	O
filter	O
matches	O
based	O
on	O
traits	O
that	O
it	O
believes	O
are	O
important	O
to	O
users	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
religion	O
or	O
height	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
other	O
dating	B-Application
apps	I-Application
,	O
users	O
can	O
message	O
other	O
users	O
without	O
first	O
requiring	O
a	O
"	O
match	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
find	O
more	O
compatible	O
matches	O
,	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
launched	O
a	O
"	O
We	O
Met	O
"	O
feature	O
which	O
allows	O
members	O
to	O
privately	O
confirm	O
that	O
they	O
have	O
at	O
least	O
had	O
a	O
first	O
date	O
with	O
a	O
particular	O
match	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2018	O
,	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
rolled	O
out	O
its	O
"	O
most	O
compatible	O
"	O
feature	O
,	O
which	O
uses	O
the	O
Gale	O
–	O
Shapley	O
algorithm	O
to	O
recommend	O
one	O
user	O
per	O
day	O
that	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
claims	O
is	O
the	O
best	O
pairing	O
,	O
determined	O
by	O
their	O
likes	O
and	O
passes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hinge	B-Operating_System
formerly	O
used	O
Facebook	B-Application
friend	O
lists	O
to	O
facilitate	O
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
2018	O
,	O
the	O
app	O
moved	O
away	O
from	O
using	O
friends	O
of	O
friends	O
as	O
a	O
predictor	O
of	O
compatibility	O
and	O
was	O
redesigned	O
to	O
no	O
longer	O
require	O
Facebook	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Hinge	B-Operating_System
marketing	O
focuses	O
on	O
its	O
"	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
deleted	O
"	O
theme	O
;	O
when	O
two	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
users	O
fall	O
in	O
love	O
,	O
the	O
app	O
's	O
mascot	O
Hingie	O
is	O
shown	O
being	O
destroyed	O
in	O
various	O
ways	O
such	O
as	O
getting	O
roasted	O
in	O
a	O
campfire	O
,	O
encased	O
in	O
ice	O
,	O
run	O
over	O
by	O
a	O
taxi	O
,	O
or	O
flattened	O
by	O
an	O
air	O
conditioning	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
a	O
video	O
made	O
by	O
Gina	O
DiVittorio	O
titled	O
"	O
The	O
ideal	O
woman	O
according	O
to	O
guys	O
 '	O
Hinge	B-Operating_System
profiles	O
"	O
went	O
viral	O
in	O
2019	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
hired	O
DiVittorio	O
to	O
star	O
in	O
a	O
web	O
series	O
called	O
Cheap	O
Date	O
,	O
which	O
featured	O
her	O
trying	O
and	O
reviewing	O
date	O
ideas	O
that	O
cost	O
less	O
than	O
$20	O
.	O
</s>
