Any Hinge users who decided to check on the status of their love lives this morning were greeted with an error message when the popular dating application conducted routine global app maintenance.
The brief outage meant that dreams of finding The One were put on pause, and it provided a moment of reflection, as Twitter users quickly noted that the timing coincided with International Women’s Day.
"Hinge going down on International Women's Day is the ultimate 2023 sign for women to stop putting up with the Clapham fuckboys," writer Meehika Barua tweeted.
Hinge going down on International Women's Day is the ultimate 2023 sign for women to stop putting up with these Clapham fuckboys
The app, which launched in 2013, has around 20 million users, with 800,000 of them paying for its premium services. Hinge is the third-most-downloaded dating application in the US after Tinder and Bumble. The app has always been positioned as a more intentional alternative that is ultimately, as its marketing promises, “designed to be deleted.”
Users typically create their profile by responding to a series of question prompts using a combination of photos, trivia, and its popular audio feature to create a better-quality profile and more meaningful matches.
The global outage meant that singles looking for love or just some light ego-boosting conversation were unable to make any matches, edit their profiles, or continue with existing conversations with the individuals they had matched with.
The outage felt like a bit of a triumph for every woman who's ever had a terrible encounter on a dating app.
it’s international women’s day AND hinge is down - I’d say that’s a big win for women everywhere, all those F1 loving 5’7 sourdough starter consultants from Clapham won’t be dulling our shine today ladies 💅
Is hinge down? Are we all finally free? Is nature healing?
Hinge going down on International Women's Day feels poetic. Avoid those unhinged men on your day ladies.
hinge down on international woman’s day? i don’t think that’s a coincidence
Being on Hinge is like signing up for a particular kind of emotional roller coaster, with highs and lows.
If @hinge is down, how am I supposed to get my morning validation and crushing disappointment?
why is hinge not working i need my daily dose of male validation 😭
@hinge what is happening? can we get an update please? some of us have people to ghost... 👻👻 #hinge #hingegate #tinder #outage
hinge has gone down and now I wonder how the hell am I meant to message a guy who isn’t interested in marrying me 🙄
Some people took it as a sign.
Hinge being down on the day I match with someone moderately interesting is a sign that I should stop looking for anything meaningful on dating apps.
can hinge not be down please??? i’m giving this whole dating thing a go and yet life is making this happen… it’s a sign i guess 🥴
It was at least a sign that people should probably exchange contact info because you never know when your app is going to need maintenance.
A moment of silence for all the people using the @hinge app to geographically locate their dates tonight because they haven’t exchanged numbers, who are now probably sitting in the gutter or alone at a bar feeling stood up and lost #hinge #hingedown
But some users have already started working on their backup strategy if Hinge is no longer an option.
Hinge is down so now I have to meet people the old fashioned way. (seducing my coworkers)
But one thing the app doesn't lack is entertainment.
Hinge is down. What am I gonna do for entertainment now 😭
The lesson here is not to let dating app maintenance stop you from finding The One; if you haven't already, consider exchanging numbers with the person you've matched with.
And lastly, if an app being down brings you joy, it's probably time to delete it altogether.