Welcome to the beginning of a long series exploring the confusing, exciting and weird world of online dating.

Dating apps have always seemed like a form of entertainment to me — almost like a game. They were, in some way, a rite of passage for those who turned 18 in high school. On my 18th birthday, I can shamefully say I was one of those that registered for a Tinder account.

It is a well-known fact that Tinder and Bumble are probably the most popular apps in the online dating world, but I have already used both. To start this series off, I decided to venture outside my comfort zone and try a new app, Hinge.

I set the location to my hometown of San Francisco, so I get a variety of people.

When first starting with the app, I was a little confused with the process of filtering through potential matches. Perhaps my year of experience with Tinder prepared me for the timeless swipe left or swipe right, but Hinge caught me off guard with the process of liking a single photo on someone’s profile.

Hinge gives a lot of different ways to build a profile and share information about yourself. You can have up to six photos, which is three fewer photos than both Tinder and Bumble. Honestly, I am not mad about it because sometimes nine is too much pressure.

You can add answers to questions and phrases, such as “My greatest strength is,” and so on. This is definitely a feature I like because you can really differentiate the people who take the app seriously and those who do not.

You can also add your pronouns, which I appreciate because you are not able to on Tinder. Another feature I thought was fun is the ability to add height, vaccine status and drinking/drug preferences.

I was not a fan of the ability to add political beliefs and religious beliefs because I feel like those are not things people should be judged on, but I understand it is a big factor for some people. 

When it comes to reviewing and liking a profile, I was confused. Rather than liking or disliking the whole profile, you can choose to like a single photo or answer one of the preset questions. When you choose to like one of those aspects, it gives you the option to leave a note or start a chat.

I can understand how this could be a good conversation starter, but I was not a fan.  

There is also a feature similar to super liking where you send a rose to the potential match to help your profile stand out. I never used the super-like feature on Tinder or Bumble, so I was not going to use it now.

I enjoyed the feature that allows you to see all the people who liked you. Rather than both liking each other to match, you can choose whether you want to like them back. You never have to be unsure whether a match will turn up or not. This is very different from most dating apps I have used, so I was pleasantly surprised.

The chat feature works pretty similar to Tinder and Bumble, so that was nice.

Overall, Hinge was okay. There were definitely some features I liked, but there were also ones I did not like. I recommend trying it out if you are tired of the basic Tinder or Bumble formats because while it was not my favorite, you might love it.

My final rating is a 6/10.