In Your Orbit is a new way to discover potential matches through interests, experiences, and qualities you may already have in common.
Every few days, In Your Orbit may introduce you to other daters based on shared details from your Hinge profiles–see them in “Your coordinates”. Coordinates refer to the information Hinge uses to find In Your Orbit connections. These could include cities where you have lived or studied in the past, something you are both interested in, or a first date you might both enjoy.
Examples of coordinates
In Your Orbit is currently being tested with select Hinge daters, so it may not be available to everyone.
How does In Your Orbit work?
When a new In Your Orbit drop is ready, you will see three blurred profiles–each profile introduces the commonality you may share, and you can choose one profile to reveal. You will then see the specific coordinate you have in common and can view their full profile. From there, you can send a Like or comment just as you would on your Discover page.
The other two profiles will remain hidden after you make your selection, and they may appear in your Discover feed, Standouts feed, or future In Your Orbit drops.
How does Hinge choose the people In Your Orbit?
In Your Orbit looks for potential matches who fit your preferences and may share something in common with you, based on what you’ve shared on your Hinge profile. Depending on the information available, In Your Orbit may recommend people who share:
- A college, hometown, college town, or neighborhood
- A similar birthday or compatible zodiac signs
- A Date Idea you both selected
- A custom trait, interest or lifestyle detail reflected on your profile
You can add or remove the details Hinge uses to determine who appears in your In Your Orbit drops–and whose drops your profile appears in–directly within the In Your Orbit experience, as explained in the following sections of this FAQ.
Does In Your Orbit use my location?
The In Your Orbit test does not use your device’s precise location or any other background location tracking.
In Your Orbit may use location-related information you have added to your Hinge profile, such as your hometown, college town, or neighborhood.
During the test, you may see a question asking whether you would be interested in sharing your location to shape future In Your Orbit recommendations. Selecting “Allow” during the test does not enable precise location sharing, request access to your device’s location, or change your location permissions. We’re looking to connect people over shared, real-world interests and experiences, with users controlling what exactly is shared. This helps us better understand the type of information daters may want to share that can lead to richer In Your Orbit connections in the future.
Learn more about location settings on Hinge here.
Can I control the information In Your Orbit uses?
Yes, directly within the In Your Orbit experience. Tap the three dots beside any of your coordinates to reveal the full list of In Your Orbit inputs, labeled “From your profile.” Depending on the detail, you may be able to hide it from use within In Your Orbit or update it through your Hinge profile.
Changes you make may apply to a future In Your Orbit drop, but they won’t apply to the recommendations shared that same-day.
How does In Your Orbit use custom traits?
For some recommendations, In Your Orbit may use custom traits that Hinge has inferred based on your profile content to connect you with others who we think have those traits in common. These include interests or lifestyle details, such as being a dog lover or enjoying live music.
Custom traits may change when you update your profile and may not always be accurate. You can hide custom traits Hinge uses for In Your Orbit, or opt out of custom traits entirely, by following the instructions below. If you hide a trait within the In Your Orbit experience, your profile will not be included in the In Your Orbit drops of other daters who Hinge thinks share that trait.
A recommendation does not confirm or guarantee that a dater has a particular trait, so it is important to use your own judgment when reviewing profiles and refer to our Safe Dating Advice for additional tips and resources.
Keep in mind, Hinge will not identify traits related to body type, race or ethnicity, religion, age, sexual identity, or gender identity. Filters are also always enforced – learn more here.
To hide individual custom traits from In Your Orbit:
- In In Your Orbit tap the three dots next to any trait
- Select any trait under the From Your Profile list
- Tap the three dots next to any trait, then tap Don’t use this.
To turn off custom traits entirely:
- Navigate to your Account Settings by tapping your Photo Icon then the Gear Icon
- Scroll down to Custom Traits
- Toggle Custom Traits Off
If you turn them off, Hinge will no longer use custom traits for future In Your Orbit recommendations. However, In Your Orbit can still make recommendations using your other coordinates, unless you hide those too (see the section above labeled “Can I control the information In Your Orbit uses?”).
What does “What are the odds?” mean?
Some In Your Orbit recommendations include an estimate showing how uncommon a shared detail may be among Hinge members.
This number is intended to add context to the coincidence. It is an estimate and does not represent the likelihood that you will match, date, or form a relationship with that person.
I still have questions.
For more information about how Hinge handles your personal information, see our Privacy Policy.