Dating app Hinge matches friends of Facebook friends

Scan the photos. Interested, swipe right. Not interested, swipe left.

It's a familiar game for singles looking for a date (or a hookup) in the digital age, thanks to the popular app Tinder. Two people in the same vicinity swipe right — match! — and meet up.

Or not. After all, you don't really know that person. And your friends don't either.

Hinge, a dating app that launched in the Twin Cities Tuesday, pitches a friendlier connection. It's similar to Tinder, but draws from friends of Facebook friends (and sometimes friends of friends of friends) to suggest matches in your geographic area. In the words of Hinge's marketing team: "No randos."

"Most people would prefer to meet someone new through friends in the real world," said Karen Fein, director of marketing at Hinge. "You've got this validation. You have people who can vouch [for him or her]. You can get the scoop in advance."

The free app sends users a list of potential connections each day, which they can dismiss by swiping left or express interest by swiping right. Profiles show a potential match's photo, full name and some biographical data, like interests and the potential date's occupation. It also explains the link between Facebook friends.

It's all about making the initial meetup easier, Fein said.

"One of the most common openers is, 'How do you know so-and-so?' " she said.

There were about 2,000 Twin Cities metro-area residents on a list to be notified when Hinge launched, the longest waiting list of any metro area in the country, Fein said. The average user has 36 Facebook friends on Hinge.

Hinge started in Washington, D.C., in 2013, and has since spread to other cities across the country. It's now based in New York. The company won't share total user numbers, but claims it's made 8 million matches. The app draws more young professionals than college students, Fein said, because it "is a way to keep meeting people through the network you have" once you've left college — and its active social life — behind.

According to a Hinge survey of about 200 people on that Twin Cities waiting list, the local dating scene is parochial (78 percent said it was "spot on" or "somewhat true" that people tend to date on their own side of the river) and not helped by Minnesota Nice (the perception that it's easy to meet people is "way off" according to 56 percent of respondents).

The most commonly dated types of people? Corporate yuppies and marathon runners.

Katie Humphrey • 612-673-4758