Hily is an online dating app that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to match potential mates.
Named after the acronym “Hey, I Like You,” the app is designed to recommend potential matches by analyzing users’ backgrounds, interests, and app activity.
The app’s registration options include male, female, and non-binary.
Hily was initially launched in August 2017. According to TechCrunch, the app had 35,000 users during its closed beta phase in October 2017.
Hily then acquired additional users through a partnership with Snapchat. As of August 2019, the app has 5 million users.
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How Does Hily Work?
Hily uses machine learning and statistical algorithms. The application analyzes data such as dialogue depth, word choice, and mutual tastes to identify profiles with a high likelihood of a match.
In August 2018, FT Magazine’s Aime Williams said that Hily’s tracking of verbal user interactions “goes beyond” competitors’ geosocial networking apps.
Hily requires account verification via live photo capture, photo upload of official ID, or social media integration.
In September 2017, Josiah Motley, editor-in-chief of KnowTechie, referred to Hily’s verification process, saying, “While no system is perfect, this is a promising step in the right direction.”
How Does Hily’s Matching Feature Work?
Hily works by looking for people nearby and showing profiles of interesting people of your preferred sex when you launch the app. You will then start to see the other people’s profiles who might be a good match.
As with most other dating apps, Hily works by using the swiping method. Swipe left if you see someone you’re not too interested in and swipe right if you think the person you’re looking at could be a good match for you.
Worried about swiping left on the wrong person? No worries, you can purchase rollbacks to undo that mistake.
You can also tap on the user’s photo to see more information about them. This will open up a sheet where you’ll see the user’s other photos uploaded on the app, their interests, and whether you have common friends.
Filtering Your Matches
When on Hily’s matching page, you can use a very sophisticated filter to find just what you are looking for; it can be found in the top right corner and has an array of features.
Firstly there is the Global Search, which allows you to filter out people that are only from a particular country or city. The cool thing is that it can be a place that isn’t remotely near you.
For example, if you are enticed by the beauty of Parisian women but there is an ocean that stands between you, you can get rid of that gap by using the global search filter.
Next, there’s the Nearby Search Filter which lets you set a 10-mile to a 1000-mile radius for the app to match you up with other users.
There are also the Advanced Filters. Are you looking for someone with a particular astrological sign? No problem, you can filter out all of the Star Signs that you dislike (take that Gemini!).
Tired of getting catfished? Well, you can set your search to only users that have verified profiles!
Are you looking for someone who has just installed the app, uncorrupted by the frustrations of dating apps? Or maybe you are looking for someone who has more than one photo? Whatever it is that you’re looking for, you’ll probably be able to find it with these advanced filters.
Finally, we have the basic filters which let you filter out your matches according to age, gender, and the usual criteria that you’ll also find in other dating apps.
How Does My Profile On Hily Work?
Before you start worrying about getting matches on Hily, the first thing you need to put some effort into is creating your profile.
You can edit your entire profile by clicking on the plus icon in the right corner. After which, you can select different photos, edit the general description, and see friends who use Hily.
Click the X in the lower-right corner of each photo to remove it or tap on the plus sign instead to add a new photo.
Ideally, you’ll want to upload photos of yourself that show your face and/or your whole body clearly. Smile, try to capture your personality in your photo and don’t show too much skin.
You might think having your cuddly pet in the shot is going to make you more popular with the ladies, but it might take the attention away from you instead so maybe hold off on showing off your little buddy until you’re in a private convo.
Most importantly, you’ll want to make sure the photos you add to your profile are your photos and not anyone else’s. Catfishing is never cool!
When Creating your Hily Profile, you will first be asked common questions like, what do you identify as, what are you looking for, are you looking for fun, dating, long-term relationships?
Then there will be a few more personal questions, like what is your highest level of education, in what niche are you currently working?
Once you’ve answered those, you can continue personalizing your profile and setting it up the way you want it to look.
You might see the “Profile Completion” button along the way. This is where you’ll see what else you need to do to complete your profile such as adding photos and answering questions to describe yourself.
You can also verify yourself by sending a selfie, adding your mobile number, email address, etc.
In addition to all of that, you can fill in a lengthy 40-question compatibility quiz where you will be asked stuff like “Predictability always brings comfort, true or false?” and “What is more important, work-life balance or success?”
How Does Hily’s Videos Feature Work?
Well, Hily has a very similar feature to the previous apps I have reviewed and that is the Videos feature. It consists of two parts: “Live” and “Stories.”
Live here you can stream yourself by Clicking the “GO LIVE” button. This is also where you’ll go to find a streamer that you would like to watch.
Similar to other applications, you can request a live video chat with the streamer, and when you get to the front of the queue, you will be able to speak with them for a limited amount of time that they have previously set.
The thing that incentivizes people to stream on the platform is the ability to earn currency on the platform that can be converted to real-world money; the platform’s currency Is called Diamonds.
The other part of the Videos section is called “Stories.” Honestly, there isn’t a lot to say about them as they are basically carbon copies of Instagram’s stories, a pretty dull feature, in my opinion.
How Does Hily Premium Work?
Like most dating apps, Hily also has a premium subscription which starts at $14.99/week! This is rather steep compared to other Freemium models, but I suppose that they really want you to buy their yearly subscription as it only costs $119/year.
So, now, you’ve decided to purchase a subscription, here is everything that you get:
Firstly You will get $566.00 worth of consumables/day that includes Unblurs (used to Discover people who liked you), My Chat Requests (used to send messages before getting matched), My Compatibility Checks (gives you a detailed breakdown of your matching score), and My Rollbacks (used to undo your hasty swipes).
Other perks you get from having Hily Premium include:
Direct Messaging – while most new apps have this feature as a given, Hily is one of these apps that puts this feature behind a paywall. So, if you really want to message that girl that you really like, this is your only option.
Visible Incoming Likes – basically, you will see who has liked you.
Disable Ads – Hily mainly plays ads when you’re watching streams or before watching a story. This definitely gets annoying after a while of using the app. In addition, there are so many places where they try to sell you the premium subscription, so I suppose that would count as another ad.
Incognito Mode– with this, you will be able to go through people’s profiles without leaving a mark. It’s a great feature for stalking, though I don’t recommend this kind of behavior on dating apps.
Top Visibility – you will be put at the top of the matches column, so you appear first on your potential matches’ screens.
There are also a bunch of filters you can unlock by having a premium subscription, but I wasn’t able to find out what they were due to them not even being shown.
Final Thoughts
To be completely honest with you, I don’t care too much about this app. There are a few things that sway my opinion toward the negative.
Firstly, it feels like their premium model is shoved down your throat. Out of likes? Get a subscription! Want to see more profiles? Get a subscription! And believe me, this gets annoying after some time. But it’s not only the subscriptions.
Honestly, dating apps are becoming more and more like social media, and this one is a prime example of that. The problem is that some of these features don’t inherently work on a non-social media app.
The Stories feature is pretty pointless. Live streams are used by some as the main source of income instead of a way to find a match, and that isn’t really a bad thing but I don’t think this should be a thing on dating apps.
But there are some positives, too. Firstly the interface is a joy to look at. This app’s interface is so well made — light on the eyes, really responsive, not overly bright (although a dark mode would be cool, even though it will probably only be a premium feature).
There is also a cool option in the profile menu called “Feature Request” where you can write a comment requesting a feature and if others share your opinion you will get upvoted, in addition, you can upvote comments or downvote them if you do not like them. It’s a lot like Reddit which, again, could turn into a negative when not used correctly.
While this app isn’t something I would personally use on a regular basis, there’s really no harm in trying to see if it would work for you.
If you’re interested in what apps I would recommend, though, you can check out my list of the best dating apps here.
