Like the rest of us online, dating app users must dodge unwanted messages. Forty-one percent of U.S. adults have personally experienced online harassment, and that number spiked to around two-thirds of adults under 30, according to a 2021 report from the Pew Research Center. Dating apps have made varying attempts to stop this on their platforms. For instance, Tinder recently launched a new warning to curb inappropriate messages — the latest in a years-long effort.
Today, Hinge launches its own spin to engender a “more positive dating experience”: Hidden Words. The feature allows users to filter out words, phrases, and even emojis in their incoming Likes with Comments (aka, people who have “liked” them on the app and added a comment).
Here’s how it works: In Settings, select Hidden Words. Add whatever you want to filter out. If you report a message as inappropriate, you’ll be able to add Hidden Words to your list from there as well.
Likes with Comments that include Hidden Words (or emojis) are moved out of the usual Like count, and will be in the Hidden Words section of the app. You can view these Hidden Likes and still skip, match, or report them if you’d like. You can also delete these hidden likes.
Hinge’s VP of trust and safety, Jeff Dunn, said in the press release that this feature is about giving daters the ability to define their boundaries and embracing their confidence. Confidence is apparently something Gen Z daters lack. In a report released this February, Hinge found that Gen Z daters are more likely than millennials to say the pandemic made them less confident on a first date.
Dunn continued, “Our hope is that with Hidden Words, users will feel reassured they can explore potential connections in a way that’s most comfortable to them, leading to safer and more satisfying dating experiences.”