Whether or not you buy into the concept, we’re pretty sure that you’re familiar with “The One.” Yes, it’s the fairy-tale ideal — the romantic promise that there is, in fact, only one individual out there in the world with whom you are meant to spend your life. We’re not going to get into the numbers here (after all, is there anything less romantic than statistics?), but we think it’s safe to say that if there’s something preventing each of us from achieving a happy, lasting relationship, it’s too much pressure (and too many options) to find the elusive One.
Dating app Hinge is doing what they can to at least narrow the dating field down for you. On July 11, they rolled out a new feature called Most Compatible, which will allow users to receive a single “most compatible” suggestion each day. The match is selected according to an algorithm that determines who the platform thinks you would be most interested in and who would be most interested in you, according to a rep from the app.
“Our mission at Hinge is to get our members out on great dates,” says Hinge director of communications Jean-Marie McGrath of the inspiration for the feature. “By highlighting our members’ Most Compatible every day, we’re helping them slow down and focus on someone who we believe they would enjoy meeting in real life.”
The Hinge technology that makes these hyper-compatible matches possible is the only one in the world of dating apps that uses the Nobel Prize-winning Gale Shapley algorithm, per McGrath. (For all the aspiring doctors out there, this also happens to be the same algorithm used to match medical students with their residency programs.) Over time, advanced machine learning allows Hinge to develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of member preferences according to the “likes” they send and receive. Most Compatible uses that information to determine the pairs that are most likely to mutually like one another on any given day.
In early tests, the method seems to have proved effective, at least in terms of guiding users to promising potential partners.
“It’s working!” McGrath tells us. “In our test markets, we’ve found that members are eight times more likely to go on a date with their Most Compatible than they are with any other Hinge recommendation.”
Hinge isn’t the first popular dating app to introduce a high-tech feature to help users find love IRL. In December 2017, Tinder debuted an AI-powered Super Likeable capability. While Super Likeable doesn’t offer a single daily match like Most Compatible, it does use machine learning to help app daters more effectively hone in on a smaller pool of targeted matches. Features like this seem like they might be an answer to online dating fatigue, which has (understandably) left many singles feeling discouraged after months and months in the hamster wheel of “likes” and swipes.
“Most Compatible solves the major problem in today’s digital dating world: too many options, with too few results,” McGrath says when asked about dating fatigue. “Now, Hinge members will be able to slow down and focus on one person we believe they’ll have a great date with.”
What do you think of Hinge’s new feature? Tweet us @BritandCo!
(Photo via Getty)