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These pickup lines have the highest success rates, according to the dating app Hinge
The hardest part of talking to someone you have finally matched with on dating apps like Hinge and Tinder is the dreaded opening line.
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A lot of people talk about opening lines, whether by debating the best thing to say to get someone's attention or by taking screenshots of the most awkward ones.
But Hinge, a popular dating app that introduces users to friends of friends, says it has figured out the best lines to initiate conversation. The app, which raised a $12 million Series A round of funding last year, conducted a month-long study, analyzing data from its users.
"Every day, the Hinge team is asked if we know the secret to starting a great conversation that will actually lead somewhere," Karen Fein, Hinge's vice president of marketing, says. "Frankly, we didn't! Since it's our mission to help users move beyond the swipe, to connect over something interesting and to ultimately meet up — we decided to find out."
Here are some of Hinge's findings. If you take nothing else away from the company's results, just know that pretty much anything you say to a new match is better than a simple "hey."
To collect information on how Hinge's users respond (or don't respond) to opening lines, Hinge's data analysts and copywriters came up with 100 opening lines and then showed a selection of them to some of their users to see how they would respond.
Hinge says men are 98% more likely than women to respond to assertive, invitational messages, so ask him to get drinks or grab dinner. Women, on the other hand, are 40% more likely to respond to food-related opening lines.
Hinge says you should message men right away because their attention spans tend to be shorter. If you don't message a guy within six hours, the likelihood he will respond drops by 25%.
Women, Hinge finds, tend to be more patient. If you don't message her within six hours, the chance she'll respond drops by just 5%.
If you're talking to someone who is 18 to 23, Hinge suggests a "novelty" or surprising opener.
If you're trying to chat up someone who is 24 to 28, Hinge says to start a conversation based around lifestyle or activities, so ask about brunch preferences or what the person likes to do on a Sunday.
Those aged 29 to 34 in Hinge's study tend to respond more to more personal conversation starters. Ask them something about themselves!
If you'd like to talk to someone who is 35 or older, Hinge suggests conversation starters with pop-culture references.
People in San Francisco respond more to opening lines that play off of nostalgia or their childhoods.
Angelenos, unsurprisingly, respond more to conversation starters involving celebrities.
If you're in Boston, Hinge suggests, use a straightforward or cynical opening line. A simple "hey, what's up?" will do.
New Yorkers are more responsive to opening lines that invoke escaping reality. Hinge suggests: "Choose: adult treehouse or the ability talk to animals?"
Hinge users in Washington, D.C., responded more to food-related opening lines — but specifically opening lines that mentioned cheese, for some reason.
Start a conversation with a reference to '90s culture if you're in Chicago — Hinge users there, apparently, love talking about being '90s kids.
The best way to get someone's attention, Hinge concludes, is by offering something other than a mundane "Hi" or "Hey, what's up?" Try to be unique — without being gross, of course — and you'll get people's attention.
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