Hinge is rolling out a new “Voice Prompts” feature to give its users a new way to connect with their matches. Voice Prompts will allow users to answer a prompt through a 30-second voice recording. The new feature is rolling out globally starting today.
Hinge says the new feature allows people to give others a glimpse into their personality and perhaps hint at what a first date would be like. The feature will prompt users to discuss a certain topic or share a specific fun story. For instance, the prompts may ask users to discuss their biggest date fail or share a random fact that they love.
The company says 65% of its users say they believe hearing someone’s voice would help them determine interest in a match, and 75% of users said it’s difficult to feel connected with a match when their conversation is limited to just text and photos.
Hinge also plans to launch a new “Voice Notes” feature later this fall. Voice Notes will make it possible for users to have a conversation that captures their personality while messaging each other. Hinge says both Voice Notes and Voice Prompts will allow people to better showcase who they are at different points in their dating journey.
Additionally, Hinge is updating its algorithm to help non-binary users better represent themselves while connecting with others on the app. To do this, Hinge will offer a “non-binary” gender category to ensure that their gender is acknowledged.
It’s worth noting that Hinge isn’t the only dating app to add voice features, as audio options are becoming more popular in the space. For instance, Bumble and Happn both have voice note features. Additionally, a new app called String lets users only communicate through voice notes. It’s clear that dating apps are looking to leverage the convenience of voice notes to retain and garner more users, as the feature takes away the awkwardness of a phone call but takes the conversation a step further than texts.