Hinge's India story: CEO Jackie Jantos on growth, dating trends and AI

India has become Hinge’s second-largest market by downloads and registrations, and the third largest by monthly active users, as the dating app builds on a decade of organic growth in a country where finding a partner is a family affair.

The Match Group-owned platform entered India in 2015 and is investing in a more localised experience to make dating safer and give users greater control.

Hinge’s “Designed to be Deleted” philosophy centres on helping people find a partner and leave the app. “Our goal is to help singles find love, and find meaningful long-term relationships,” Jantos told Fortune India.

Young Indians are increasingly seeking independence in finding partners, even as family and shared values shape their choices. “Shared values and shared commitment matter, and the role of family and parents really matters,” Jantos said. “But we’ve seen a rise in use in the app because we are just naturally seeing the rise of individuals wanting to do that search and find love with a little bit of their own agency along the way.”

India’s dating market: Between casual dating and matrimony

“There is also this really interesting space in the middle for people who are looking to represent themselves in authentic ways and find a relationship along that journey,” Jantos said.

Grand View Research estimated India’s online dating application market at $547.9 million in 2023 and projected it to reach $1.02 billion by 2030. India recorded around 205 million dating app downloads in 2025, according to Sensor Tower data cited in reports. However, it did not feature among the top five markets by dating-app revenue.

Jantos said younger users were prioritising authenticity. “What we’re seeing from Gen Z in particular today is this real desire to be true to themselves and to be less performative … than millennials were a decade ago,” she said.

Hinge brings privacy and safety features to India

Hinge’s India update includes a phased waitlist, Face Check to verify that an account holder is real, and a Block List to avoid contacts such as family members, colleagues, and former partners. Screenshot protection prevents screenshots of personal profile information across Discover, Likes You and Standouts.

Match Note lets users privately share values, boundaries, faith, or communication style before a conversation. Developed with input from LGBTQ daters, it can disclose information someone may not want on a public profile, such as having never been in a relationship. “Are You Sure?” and “Did This Bother You?” encourage users to reconsider potentially hurtful messages. “You can’t authentically represent yourself if you don’t feel safe in the environment itself,” Jantos said.

How Hinge uses AI to improve matching and safety

Hinge uses machine learning to recommend people likely to be interested in one another. “Compatibility. I am likely to be interested in you, and you are likely to be interested in me,” Jantos said. More information about users’ goals and preferences can improve recommendations. AI also helps detect harmful language and suspicious activity. “AI allows us to do real detection of bad actors on our platform and respond,” Jantos said.

Prompt Feedback uses AI to help users expand short profile responses through follow-up questions, rather than generating answers. “It will not write for you. It will not tell you what to write, but it will ask you more prompts,” she said. Jantos also said Gen Z showed both curiosity about AI and “a real distrust in AI”.

Hinge’s business model and expansion

During Match Group’s Q2 2026 earnings call, CFO Steven Bailey said India had seen strong organic growth and that the company planned to put marketing spend behind the market. Hinge’s global revenue rose 22% year-on-year to $203.5 million in Q2 2026, while its paying-user base increased 17% to 2 million. Match Group expects Hinge to reach $1 billion in revenue in 2027.

In India, Hinge+ costs ₹1,199 per month and HingeX ₹1,499. Fewer than 15% of Hinge’s global monthly active users pay for a subscription or other product, Jantos said; she did not disclose the India figure. “We believe our free product is sacred and the app needs to work for singles to find relationships,” she said.

Jantos said Hinge had more to learn before expanding beyond India’s larger markets and had no firm three-year plan. “I don’t think that we have enough learning yet to answer what Hinge looks like in three years’ time,” she said.

For Hinge, the challenge is to turn its growing Indian audience into meaningful relationships and a sustainable business, without losing the proposition that users should eventually leave the app. “The more people find relationships on our app, the more word of mouth organically grows,” Jantos said. “There are hundreds of millions of singles in India looking for love.”