This is how Hinge’s algorithm matches you with compatible partners

Navigating dating apps can be a complicated task, rife with uncertainty and an additional dollop of trepidation.

How are you supposed to figure out whether a person if worth swiping right for, of if their personality matches their perfectly preened profile?

While you may think the potential suitors appearing on your phone are doing so solely based on location, there is actually far more to the digital matchmaking business than meets the eye.

On dating app Hinge, users are presented with a match every day the app has deemed their "Most Compatible".

This person is chosen based on several factors, including the user's basic background information and the random questions they have answered on their profile.

"Hinge's algorithm is specifically designed to introduce you to potential dates who meet your preferences (and whose preferences you meet)," Jean-Marie McGrath, director of Communications at Hinge, told Elite Daily.

When completing your profile on Hinge, users are asked to answer three random questions from a variety of options.

These questions can include, "What's your go-to karoake song?", "Who's your dream dinner guest?", and, "What's the working title of your memoir?"

Once you have answered these questions and your answers have been added to your profile, Hinge uses your responses in addition to other elements of your profile, such as your political views and whether or not you want children, to determine who to pair you up with for your "Most Compatible" match of the day.

The algorithm Hinge uses to do this is called the "Gale-Shapley" algorithm.

It was developed by mathematicians David Gale and Lloyd Shapley as a means of solving a mathematical phenomenon called the "stable marriage problem".

The "stable marriage problem" occurs when difficulty is found matching a group of men and women equally when the participants have been asked to rank each other in order of preference.

By using the "Gale-Shapley" algorithm with its users, Hinge is able to match people on the app based specifically on their answers to the random questions, and thus help them find partners with whom they will have compatibility.

"Considering everything we know about you so far, your 'Most Compatible' is the person we think you would be most interested in dating, who would be most interested in dating you," McGrath says.

Hinge provides you with a refreshed "Most Compatible" match every day, based on the information the app is able to glean from your profile.

"Through a combination of machine learning and the Nobel-prize winning Gale-Shapley algorithm, 'Most Compatible' pairs members with the person they’re most likely to have a great first date with," McGrath states.

In January 2019, a new dating app called Ship made headlines due to its innovative method of helping its users find love.

Ship puts the matter of finding a compatible match into the hands of your friends, allowing your mates to swipe on your behalf.

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