The Latest ‘Thing’ in the Dating App Game is a Virtual Matchmaker Named Audrey

Most people who have tried dating apps know two things about them.

For all of the convenience associated with a potential roster of love interests just a few swipes away, the whole thing can be a major waste of time when you find yourself deep in rabbit hole banter with someone who you could have zero connection with in real-life.

That’s the first problem.

Secondly, due to the seemingly limitless options (and subsequent balancing of dates with multiple people) offered in the app-facilitated dating game, relationships are unlikely. Not impossible; but unlikely. That’s where Hinge stepped in back in 2014 with a focus of facilitating relationships (remember those?) rather than hook-ups.

Now, the company is taking it a step further by testing a personal assistant as a matchmaker.

Enter Audrey, the only wingwoman you need to get back into the dating game – but, at $99USD per month, she doesn’t come cheap.

According to Business Insider, it works like this: you select the people you’re interested in, then leave it to Audrey to reach out, introduce you to the potential person of your dreams and – if the feeling is mutual – schedule a date. That way, you can avoid the aforementioned rabbit hole of text message banter with a complete stranger (when you rarely have time to text your mom back, who has time for that?).

Your trusted new matchmaker even “provides data and feedback along the way to help you find that perfect match,” as Business Insider reports.

Dubbed the “classier Tinder,” the app’s appeal comes from the use of its “romance graph.” Meaning, it focuses on distant Facebook connections (a friends of friends of friends type of deal) to recommend people based on similarities.

Unlike geo-based dating apps, Hinge shows a list of about 20 potential dates daily that are curated from friends of friends. An update in October included the addition of new “stories” arranges like Instagram updates.