Hinge Adds Voice Capability to Dating App

Dating app provider Hinge is launching a new audio experience called Voice Prompts that allows users to add 30-second voice recordings to their profiles.

"Hinge wants to help people get to know you as soon as they see your profile. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, imagine how many your voice is worth," said Michelle Parsons, chief product officer of Hinge, in a statement. "With the introduction of Voice Prompts, we're adding more authenticity to the profile experience, allowing users to fully display their personality in a new way. Our team's focus is to introduce product updates that help our daters move from the selfie to new forms of self-expression."

Users can select from a set of prompts, such as "best travel story," and can listen to responses before they go live. The Voice Prompt will be added and displayed under the first picture in their profiles.

In a recent Hinge study, 75 percent of users said that assessing chemistry is one of the hardest parts of modern dating right now, but 65 percent of Hinge singles believe hearing someone's voice would help them determine interest in a match. 

"Hearing someone's voice connects us in ways that seeing a photo or reading a text can't," said Logan Ury, director of relationship science at Hinge, in a statement. "So it's not surprising that 52 percent of Hinge users say they can learn more about a potential match through a voice message. It gives you a chance to check in with yourself early on about what the other person makes you feel, whether that's chemistry, confusion, or disinterest."

Hinge is also introducing Voice Notes for users to have conversations that capture their tone and personality while messaging other members.