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Dating app Hinge ditches flings for relationships

But you're going to have to pay.

Between Tinder, Bumble, OKCupid and the plethora of dating apps available, finding someone to hook up with has never been easier. But the endless supply of options has also made it much harder to connect with someone on a deeper, longer-lasting level. To tackle that problem, Hinge is rebuilding itself to focus on connecting people looking for relationships. It's also incorporating a new $7 monthly membership fee, in part to make sure that subscribers are actually invested in looking for relationships.

The app has been revamped to more heavily feature on people you've matched or interacted with, instead of constantly presenting more options in a deck of cards. Its home page shows your matches and people who have liked your profile, to remind you of the people you've been getting to know. When you're looking for new matches, you're presented with profile pages populated with up to nine pictures, mutual friends, basic facts, as well as the candidate's answers to up to six preset questions. You'll have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the current profile to see the next person.

While the new fee is quite an anomaly in modern dating apps, which depend on having a large database of potential matches for popularity, Hinge believes it'll help the new agenda by deterring unsavory users. "Everyone should have a little bit of skin in the game," Hinge's CEO Justin McLeod told Engadget. In addition to creating a sense of community and making sure everyone feels invested, McLeod said the new payment model will "weed out people who sign up for fun or vanity swipes." If you'd like to check out the new features before dropping the cash, you can try out the app for a free trial period. Happy matching!