The purple heart on the hinge: What the new Signal feature means

Weeks after dating app users started seeing a new heartbeat feature on Hinge, the app is officially launching a feature: Signals.

Purple heart signals appear on the profiles of other users, indicating that they are engaging with potential dates in the app. As Mashable reported in May, in order to earn the Symbols (heart) badge, a user needs to satisfy both the basic requirements and three out of five behaviors that demonstrate “Thoughtful Engagement.”

The basic requirements are:

• Filling out a person’s profile (having both pictures and quick answers)

• Having an account in good standing, which means you follow the Hinge Community Guidelines

• Having an account that is one week old

• Selfie verification completed

And users must exhibit three out of five of these behaviors:

• Posting a comment if you like someone

• Sending messages

• Looking at someone’s profile before Liking (not just Liking the first photo)

• Reviewing personal preferences and matching or skipping (not leaving others in limbo)

• Confirms dates

Hinge uses technology to help identify and reveal these patterns, the app told Mashable. The app can detect your movements, but that’s nothing new. Hinge has long had pranks like “We Met,” which appear a day after they exchange numbers to ask you to meet up IRL.

Users cannot purchase the Symbols badge. Instead, it displays the user’s activity for the past 30 days and updates daily based on recent activity.

In the nearly 15 years since the launch of Tinder and the modern nature of the dating app, singles have been vocal about their frustrations using it, including bad behavior like ghosting and pen palling (aka, texting but never meeting). And while dating app love stories are rare, it’s possible that those who have found someone special have fallen in love with someone who wasted their time. So, Hinge is trying to sign — literally — who might want to prove the app’s “designed to be deleted” tagline.

“People are tired of games,” said Hinge’s lead relationship scientist, Logan Ury, in a press release with Mashable. “We’re tired of waiting six hours to send a text, record mixed signals, and pretend we don’t care. Our research shows that long-lifers are ready for something honest, where effort is celebrated. Signs make that thinking visible – so it’s easy to find people who are already showing that way on Hinge.”

Recent feature additions to Hinge have also encouraged better behavior, such as Date Ideas, which helps you plan a date so you don’t get stuck sending messages endlessly.

During the Signals test, Hinge saw an increase in selfie verification, the number of dating people sending likes and comments, and conversations that started after matching, the app shared with Mashable. So, at least for now, it seems that Signs are getting users to act on their best behavior.

Hinge is rolling out Signals in phases as it gathers feedback and learns how daters use it. This feature is now available globally, except for the UK and EU.