It’s all changed at Hinge. Obviously, the cursed last couple of years have been a tough one for dating apps.
We saw pivots to digital dating as well as just digital matching, with phone calls and video chats encouraged, and later in the year you couldn’t walk your dog without running into socially distanced dates in the park with two mask-wearing daters sat at very opposite ends of a picnic blanket.
But that’s not all that has happened at Hinge lately. Following the app’s acquisition by Match.com’s Match Group in late 2019, there have been some notable changes on the app that were ‘designed to be deleted’.
Firstly, there was a whole site redesign that is claimed to be more ‘harmonious’ and draws colors from nature (I guess those are easy on the eyes when you’ve been scrolling all day) and hand-drawn illustrations.
And then came the additional features, including a new feed of just prompts and photo prompts that Hinge’s algorithm thinks you’ll be into, as well as Standouts and Roses, which are a new way to show you like someone on the app.
The algorithm was implemented on Hinge in 2018, and it’s based on Nobel Prize-winning research into matching, so your dating life is in safe hands on Hinge.
Dude Hack Exclusive Offers
How Many Roses Do You Get On Hinge?
So, what is the Hinge Rose and how many do you get? Basically, it’s a little rose emoji that stands in as another variety of ‘like’ in the app.
It’s kind of like a super like or a star on other dating apps. Obviously using a rose is at best kitsch, at worst cringe, but it works just like any other super like. You get one free rose per week, and after that, you have to pay for additional roses.
A single rose is $3.99, and the most you can buy in a bundle is 12 for $29.99. No one gets extra Roses for free, so it’s a level playing field for all users whether they pay for a Hinge+ or HingeX subscription, or not.
Of course, those who do already pay might find an extra add-on annoying, but that remains to be seen!
How To Send Roses On Hinge
Your Roses are visible in the Standouts tab of your app. Find this by clicking on the star symbol in your menu bar.
The number of Roses you have at present will be in the top right of the screen on what is essentially a Roses button. As you would imagine, it’s a picture of a rose.
The number in parentheses beside the rose image is how many Roses you currently have in your possession. If you want to buy more Roses, click on the button and get your card info ready.
You can buy single Roses or bundles of 3 or 6.
Related: Is Hinge Free?
You can send Roses just like you would send a like, or you can send them to Standouts with one click. To send a Rose to someone in your main feed, you just have to follow the same steps you would to send a like.
So, tap the Like button at the bottom right-hand corner of your potential new love interest’s photo just as you usually would, but then tap the Rose icon that’s now beside the ‘Send Like’ button.
If you want to send a message, then obviously type that out before you hit the Rose. Remember, a Rose is like a super like, so don’t double up and send an intense message too.
‘You Complete Me’, is a little much for a first interaction, especially when the hottie on the receiving end knows that you might also have spent up to $3.99 contacting them!
How Is A Rose Different From A Like On Hinge?
So, this was a question I was asking myself too. Why is there essentially a new like that costs money?
I’ve done some research and it seems like when you send a Rose your match will permanently see you at the top of their list of likes. Or, you and everyone else who sent them a rose if they’re particularly popular!
This means they’ll see your lovely face repeatedly, and that whole thing of ‘Oh, he looks nice, I’ll reply later…’ followed by forgetting about someone entirely is unlikely to happen.
Roses are also your only option for communicating with your Standout matches, so you might as well send at least your one free weekly Rose to one of them!
How Are Roses Connected To Standouts?
Firstly, what on earth are Standouts? Basically, they’re an evolution of the Most Compatible match that Hinge has been giving you daily for a while now.
Now you get a whole tab of essentially ‘Most Compatible’s, whom Hinge claims have been chosen for their excellent Prompt answers, with this group of elite Hinge users then combed for matches you will like.
This is all backed up by that Nobel Prize-winning algorithm I told you about earlier. In actual fact, looks and activity also seem to play into who gets into the Standouts, but that’s what you would expect from a dating app – there’s no point in connecting people with a user who is never online, right?
You get ten Standouts a day, which you can find in your Standouts tab. Standouts don’t appear in your normal feed, and it’s unclear how long that remains the case, and if Standouts are ever repeated.
This will all become clear as we get used to Hinge’s new features! To keep updated, check out my article on Standouts, where I’ll add any new info I uncover.
Obviously, Roses and Standouts go hand in hand. They were rolled out in the same month, and you have to go through the Standouts tab to get to Rose HQ. But what is this mysterious connection, and why did these features appear together?
Well, to put it simply, the Roses/Standouts connection is the Match Groups’ new monetization plan for Hinge.
You can only contact your Standouts by sending them a Rose, and as you only get one free Rose a week you have to pay for any further Roses you want to send.
If you want to get the most value possible from your Roses, it might actually be best to send them to people you like the look of in your regular Hinge feed.
That way you’ll be at the top of their list of likes, and you may well stay there because they aren’t getting an influx of Roses. If someone is in your Standouts then they are likely in other people’s too, and so you’re low-key in a bachelor-esque fight for their heart! Or you know, for a message back.
Of course, you should shoot your shot if you like someone, and Standout members can reply to as many of their rose-sending suitors as they like so the usual rules apply: be interesting, don’t be creepy, make sure your photos are flattering but not from ten years ago… dating app 101.
So, Do I Have To Send Roses Now?
No, of course not! But you get one free Rose a week, so whether you’re using it to make yourself known to a Hinge member who has appeared in your Standouts feed or to impress someone you found on your main feed you may as well use it.
There’s no obligation to buy additional Roses, but the option is always there.
And who needs Roses when you have a killer profile? Check out my free 6-Step Tinder Tune-Up today. It says Tinder, but works on every online dating profile and will help you tailor your photos, bio, and prompt for more matches. Get clicking.
