When it comes to using dating apps, everyone is looking for a way to set themselves apart from the crowd. So when you hear about a feature called “Hinge Standouts,” naturally, you might be wondering how you can land yourself a spot on such a list.
What Are “Standouts” On Hinge?
Ever experienced swipe fatigue? Left, right, left, right, and two hours later, you have a thumb cramp and still no date. Standouts is Hinge‘s answer to that via a curated, customized feed of who the algorithm deems to be your best matches.
Hinge claims that matches are displayed based on two factors: they’re already getting a lot of attention on the app, and they’re similar to profiles you’ve interacted with in the past.
How Do Hinge Standouts Work?
You can navigate to this section of the popular dating app by clicking on the star icon in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.
There’s no straight-and-narrow answer from Hinge about what, precisely, merits a “standout” profile. But we do know a few things about the elusive list.
1. A new group of people are added everyday.
According to Hinge, a new crew of potential matches appears in Standouts every day. The “Next Refresh” timer will let you know how long you have until that specific user is refreshed, thus leaving your feed.
2. There’s no guarantee that people from Standouts will also appear in your regular feed.
While it’s possible that you might come across a profile again in your Discover feed, it’s not guaranteed. So if someone really strikes your fancy, make your move now!
3. You can only match with someone using a rose in Standouts.
Capitalism is alive and well at Hinge, even when it comes to the business of true love. To keep things interesting, you can’t send a regular old “like” to someone who is featured in Standouts. Instead, you have to use a “rose.”
Every Hinge user gets one free rose per week, and you can buy more at any time. The prices range from $1.49 to $3.33 each, depending on how many you buy at a time. Free roses refresh every Sunday, and if you don’t use it, you lose it.
Another potential upside of using a rose is that the gesture sends you to the top of that person’s “Likes” list, giving you a better shot of being noticed. It’s a similar feature to Tinder‘s “Super Like.”
4. What’s the difference between Standouts and Discover?
Standouts features profiles that are a combination of generally popular in your area, and a decent match for you personally. Whereas Discover includes only profiles that Hinge’s algorithm thinks are a good match for you – local popularity isn’t a factor.
The Discover algorithm attempts to show you profiles of folks with whom you have a highest likelihood of actually matching with, in an attempt to protect you from the pain of lots of rejection. But with Standouts, there’s more of a chance that you won’t match. Not that you’re not great – it’s just that you’re dealing with the cream of the crop.
How to Get On Hinge Standouts
Unfortunately, there is no magic formula that we can share to catapult you into Standouts status. The algorithm is cherry-picking the most attention-grabbing profiles around. So if you have an amazing dating app profile, you have a better chance of standing out. Like, duh.
This all comes down to having compelling, high quality photos, spending time crafting witty responses to prompts, and using the app regularly. (Think about it: if you’re not active, Hinge isn’t going to show your account to as many people, giving you less of a chance of receiving a lot of attention.)
How to Know if You’re On Hinge Standouts
Here’s the real kicker: Hinge doesn’t notify you if you make it onto Standouts. According to one Reddit user, the only way you’ll find out is when you start receiving “an influx of roses.”
The good news is that everyone’s Standouts section is different based on their own profile, who they’ve liked in the past, and what they’re looking for. So yeah, you might not be on everyone’s list in your whole city. But you might make it on the Standouts section of someone who ends up being a great match for you.
