Dating App Hinge Now Lets Users Connect Over 'Shared Events,' Including Being Suspended From School The new feature, called Story Cards, provides potential icebreakers for users who match on its app.

By Laura Entis

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Hinge

Hinge, an online dating app that positions itself as the "less random Tinder," now allows users to connect over shared experiences such as "being a leftie" and "partying at Mardi Gras."

It's a move that further differentiate Hinge from Tinder, the 800-pound gorilla in the online dating market that has spawned hundreds of competitors. Hinge works like Tinder -- users swipe right to indicate their interest in a profile -- except members are only paired if they share at least one Facebook friend. The distinction is meant to hold users accountable by tethering their actions on the dating site to real world markers including last names, education, work and social circles.

Hinge CEO Justin McLeod says he hopes the Story Cards help users make offline connections more quickly. Users can swipe yes or no to 300 questions about past experiences, most informally selected based on Hinge employees' own past dating experiences. When a match is made on the app a few shared experiences -- shown in order of most to least unusual -- are highlighted.

Related: Sean Rad Takes Another Swipe as Tinder CEO

In a beta-test, Hinge said the Story Card feature increased two-way messages by more than 20 percent.

The company released the shared experiences "people are most likely to bond over" as well as those least likely to inspire further connection.

It's a strange compilation. "Being suspended from school" is apparently a good way to get a follow-up message or phone number, as is "Southeast Asia," "being a cyclist," "being a leftie," "Middle East," and "helicopter."

Meanwhile, users weren't likely to connect over "interest in board games," "sea creature attack," "love of cooking," or the annual Miami art show "Art Basel."

Image Credit: Hinge

Related: A New Dating App for Divorcees Aims to Make the Second (or Third or Fourth) Time Around Smoother

In a press release, the company explains it thus:

The top bonding experiences tend to be: checkered pasts (like being suspended, partying, and streaking) and gender defying hobbies (like women who golf or fish, or men who like ballet). The least bonding experiences tend to be hobbies that aren't very social (like comics, baking or art and theater).

Below are complete top 10 lists of what Hinge users are most and least likely to bond over.

People are most likely to bond over

1) Being suspended from school

2) Southeast Asia

3) Partying to Mardi Gras

4) Being a cyclist

5) Being a leftie

6) Middle East

7) Golf

8) Fishing

9) Helicopter

10) Farmers

People are least likely to bond over:

1) Interest in board games

2) Sea Creature attack

3) Love of cooking

4) Interest in comics

5) Having tattoos

6) Art Basel

7) Africa

8) College Athletes

9) Water Sports

10) Artists

Laura Entis is a reporter for Fortune.com's Venture section.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

AI Could Cause 99% of All Workers to Be Unemployed in the Next Five Years, Says Computer Science Professor

Professor Roman Yampolskiy predicted that artificial general intelligence would be developed and used by 2030, leading to mass automation.

Buying / Investing in Business

Big Investors Are Betting on This 'Unlisted' Stock

You can join them as an early-stage investor as this company disrupts a $1.3T market.

Buying / Investing in Business

From a $120M Acquisition to a $1.3T Market

Co-ownership is creating big opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg 'Insisted' Executives Join Him For a MMA Training Session, According to Meta's Ex-President of Global Affairs

Nick Clegg, Meta's former president of global affairs, says in a new book that he once had to get on the mat with a coworker.