Dating is down. So why is Hinge thriving? with CEO Justin McLeod
As young people report feeling lonelier and less connected than ever, the dating app Hinge is driving its users into real life, human experiences. CEO Justin McLeod returns to Rapid Response to share how the platform is combating digital fatigue amongst users, as well as navigating the risks and opportunities of AI in online dating. McLeod also explores Hinge’s recent collaboration with renowned psychologist Esther Perel, and offers insider tips to find that special someone in the chaos of modern romance.
Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/
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Advice Line with Justin McLeod of Hinge
Hinge founder and CEO Justin McLeod joins Guy on the Advice Line to answer questions from three early-stage founders. Plus, Justin describes Hinge’s new initiatives around intentional dating.
First, Jessica in Toronto, Canada asks about opening new markets for her self-guided mystery road trip packages. Then Nick from Auckland, New Zealand wonders about strategies to drive word-of-mouth referrals for his designer security screen door company. And finally, Chandler from Minnesota discusses the challenge of getting his story across to customers as he sells hand-drawn posters that celebrate the history of golf and hockey.
Thank you to the founders of Guess Where Trips, Framework Doors, and Archive 22 for being a part of our show.
If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.
And be sure to listen to the Hinge founding story as told by Justin on the show in 2021.
This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Andrea Bruce. Our audio engineer was Cena Loffredo.
You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com and on Substack.
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Hinge CEO Justin McLeod says dating AI chatbots is 'playing with fire'
Today, I’m talking with Hinge founder and CEO Justin McLeod. Hinge is one of the biggest dating apps in the United States — it’s rivaled only by Tinder, and both are owned by the massive conglomerate Match Group, which has consolidated a huge chunk of the online dating ecosystem.
Justin and I dug into that here, and we also explored some of the thorny issues around AI and dating, Hinge’s monetization, and data privacy in the second Trump administration. This is a fun one, with a whole lot going on. I think you’ll like it.
Read the full interview transcript here on The Verge.
Links:
How We Do Things | Hinge
Hinge’s First Gen Z Report | Hinge
Hinge’s new AI feature judges your prompt responses | TechCrunch
When Cupid Is a prying journalist | NYT / Modern Love
Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno to step down in July | CNBC
Match Group CEO Rascoff to lead struggling Tinder app | WSJ
Replika CEO says it’s okay if we end up marrying AI chatbots | Decoder
Apple ordered to keep web links in the App Store | Verge
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Hinge expert shares dating advice for ambitious nerds
Episode 709: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) and Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) talk to Logan Ury ( https://x.com/loganury ) about how young men can be more successful in dating.
—
Show Notes:
(0:00) Intro
(6:28) The secretary problem
(14:43) What's happening with men right now
(21:07) How to do the apps right
(27:32) Meeting someone IRL
(30:03) The power of weak ties
(36:56) How to be a better date
(40:37) Date like a scientist
(45:44) Fuck the spark
(49:02) What's your tendency
(51:00) AI partners
(57:15) Pro tip: join a mens group
(1:03:23) Mental Health vs Mental Fitness
—
Links:
• Want Sam's Company Research Playbook? Get it here: https://clickhubspot.com/wve
• Logan Ury - https://www.loganury.com/
• 3 Tendencies Quiz - https://www.loganury.com/quiz
• The School of Life - https://www.youtube.com/@theschooloflifetv
• Mating in Captivity - https://tinyurl.com/bddrnw9c
• How to Not Die Alone - https://tinyurl.com/mupe2ntc
• Seven Principles for Making a Marriage Work - https://tinyurl.com/jvz9hhu6
—
Check Out Shaan's Stuff:
• Shaan's weekly email - https://www.shaanpuri.com
• Visit https://www.somewhere.com/mfm to hire worldwide talent like Shaan and get $500 off for being an MFM listener. Hire developers, assistants, marketing pros, sales teams and more for 80% less than US equivalents.
• Mercury - Need a bank for your company? Go check out Mercury (mercury.com). Shaan uses it for all of his companies!
Mercury is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Column, N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust, Members FDIC
—
Check Out Sam's Stuff:
• Hampton - https://www.joinhampton.com/
• Ideation Bootcamp - https://www.ideationbootcamp.co/
• Copy That - https://copythat.com
• Hampton Wealth Survey - https://joinhampton.com/wealth
• Sam’s List - http://samslist.co/
My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano
Masculinity Debate: Are Dating Apps Creating A Generation Of Incels?! Lonely Men Are More Dangerous Than Ever!
Are we raising a lost generation of men? Is society failing young boys? In this emergency discussion, Steven sits down with expert guests to explore the recently published ‘Lost Boys Report’.
Scott Galloway is a professor of marketing at NYU Stern School of Business and a member of the advisory council for the American Institute for Boys and Men. Logan Ury is a behavioral scientist turned dating coach and the Director of Relationship Science at Hinge. Together, they bring expertise in culture, psychology, and societal trends to unpack the crisis highlighted in the Lost Boys Report.
They explain:
Why young men are giving up on love, work, and ambition
How toxic masculinity narratives are damaging adolescent boys
Why dating apps may be fuelling loneliness and resentment in young men
How rising violence among young males signals a deeper societal problem
Why traditional paths to success are failing modern boys
00:00 Intro
02:13 The Lost Boys Report
03:46 Who Is Logan and What Does She Do?
05:07 Who Is Scott
06:12 How Did This Happen?
10:38 Fatherless Homes
14:40 Are Boys Mentally Weaker?
16:51 Is the Education System the Problem?
22:49 Where Are Male Role Models?
30:08 What the Stats Say About Dating
34:42 Dating Standards
44:23 Do Women Really Want Emotionally Attuned Men?
46:16 If They're Okay, Always Go on a Second Date
48:06 Men's Groups: Should We Have Them and What Are the Benefits?
54:57 Ads
55:50 Steve's Supportive Group of Friends
1:02:42 The Dangers of Porn for Young Boys
1:08:01 How Scott Helps Men With Porn Addiction
1:13:12 Men Approaching Women in a Post-MeToo Era
1:15:27 Teens Don’t Know How to Ask Girls Out in Person
1:25:22 Do Successful Women Struggle to Find a Partner?
1:28:11 Ads
1:29:14 The Rise of Feminism
1:30:54 Money Equals Identity for Men
1:36:09 Does Money Give Self-Worth to Women?
1:38:42 The Human Dating Boot Camp
1:47:33 How Is the Left Going to Get Men Back?
1:52:16 Advice for Parents of Young Boys
1:55:12 What Scott and Steve Had to Unlearn About Being a Man
2:10:02 Closing Message for the Lost Boys
You can learn more about the March 2025 CSJ Report, here: https://g2ul0.app.link/2kI16MnW6Rb
Follow Scott:
Instagram - https://g2ul0.app.link/iY8VsRwW6Rb
Twitter - https://g2ul0.app.link/mtdT5dzW6Rb
Website - https://g2ul0.app.link/V8ukmVDW6Rb
Follow Logan:
Instagram - https://g2ul0.app.link/z6h5BeGW6Rb
Twitter - https://g2ul0.app.link/jzjDZkIW6Rb
Website - https://g2ul0.app.link/5SIP1FOW6Rb
You can purchase Scott’s book, ‘The Algebra of Happiness: The Pursuit of Success, Love and What It All Means’, here: https://g2ul0.app.link/gNRRlBCU6Rb
You can purchase Logan’s book, ‘How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love’, here: https://g2ul0.app.link/4aQGk5EU6Rb
Research document: https://stevenbartlett.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/DOAC-Lost-Boys-Independent-Research-and-Further-Reading.pdf
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A.I. Accelerates in Paris + Can A.I. Fix Your Love Life?
Kevin reports back from the A.I. Action Summit in Paris, where it was full speed ahead toward artificial general intelligence, with a conspicuous lack of action on the safety front. Also, Happy Valentine’s Day! We’re taking a look at A.I. on dating apps. First, our producer Rachel Cohn explains what happened when she applied all of the advice from Hinge’s new Prompt Feedback tool to her dating profile. Then, we’re joined by Hinge’s founder and C.E.O., Justin McLeod, to discuss how he thinks A.I. can help users find love.
Guests:
Rachel Cohn, Hard Fork producer, writer of the newsletter “Are You My Boyfriend?”
Justin McLeod, founder and C.E.O. of Hinge
Additional Reading:
Macron Pitches Lighter Regulation to Fuel A.I. Boom in Europe
Vance, in First Foreign Speech, Tells Europe That U.S. Will Dominate A.I.
When Cupid Is a Prying Journalist
We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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Moment 150: The REAL (& Usually Unseen) Reason You’re Struggling With Love & Relationships!: Logan Ury
In this moment, relationship expert and behavioural scientist, Logan Ury discusses what she thinks is the most important part out of all of relationship science: attachment styles. Logan says these styles help you to understand yourself, your previous dating patterns, and who you are attracted to. Our attachment style also explains we are triggered to push people away, as our brains create negative thoughts and look for flaws in a person as an unconscious way of protecting us from getting hurt. However, Logan says that it is possible for 25% of us to change our attachment style. She says this can be done in 2 parts: firstly by understanding your style of attachment, and secondly, by understanding your unconscious triggers you can override them in order to get out of your own way in finding love.
Listen to the full episode here
Apple - https://g2ul0.app.link/sXZ3OZpToHb
Spotify - https://g2ul0.app.link/nAu4hnmToHb
Watch the Episodes On Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/%20TheDiaryOfACEO/videos
Logan:
https://www.loganury.com
https://www.instagram.com/loganury/?hl=en
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Hinge Dating App CEO: Everyone Said Hinge Was A TERRIBLE idea! The 7 Love & Dating Secrets From Hinge’s Founder! AI Will Change Love & Dating!
What is the best way to get over a heartbreak? For Justin McLeod that was creating one of the world’s most popular dating apps.
Justin McLeod is the CEO and founder of the dating app Hinge, which has over 20 million users and sets up a date every 3 seconds.
In this conversation Justin and Steven discuss topics, such as overcoming addiction, early stigma around dating apps, the setbacks and difficulties when creating Hinge, his tumultuous love story, and why happy endings are for the movies.
Watch the episodes on Youtube - https://g2ul0.app.link/3kxINCANKsb
My new book! 'The 33 Laws Of Business & Life' is out now - https://smarturl.it/DOACbook
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https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo
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The Love Expert: Why Women Are Addicted To F**k Boys & Why You Should "Have A 'Boring' Relationship Instead!" Logan Ury
Are we our own worst enemies when it comes to romance? What if instead, we dated like a scientist, using equations and analysis, rather than feelings and attraction to find love.
In this new episode Steven sits down with dating coach and behavioural scientist, Logan Ury.
Logan is a behavioural expert, dating coach and Director of Relationship Science at the dating app, Hinge. She is also the author of the book, ‘How To Not Die Alone’, which outlines the scientific theories she uses with her clients to help them find love.
In this conversation Logan and Steven discuss topics, such as:
Why Logan is a dating coach and her work with Hinge
How she helps people get out of their own way and find their dating blindspots
The ways that modern dating is very new for history
Researching the dating habits of Gen Z
Hiring a dating coach for herself
How Logan found her husband at work
Attachment theory and its importance for dating
How you can change your attachment style
The negativity bias and how our brain runs on ancient software
Why you should go for a securely attached person who may seem boring
The reasons that securely attached people are the heroes of the dating world
Why people are so addicted to f**k boys
The importance of taking a break during a fight
Understanding our dating patterns and how we can change them
The secretary problem and the maths of when to stop looking and choose someone
Digital Body Language and how it impacts dating
Why people confuse ‘ick’s’ for dealbreakers
Why you should overcome your ‘ick’s’
The 3 most common dating tendencies and unrealistic expectations
Why the dating environment is so important
How to date like a scientist
Why you shouldn't try to be perfect on a date
Vulnerability as a magnet for connection
The post date 8 checklist
Why you should ignore the spark and focus on the slow burn
What things matter less than people think for relationships and what do they underestimate
Why you need to be able to fight well in a relationship
The tips and tricks to a dating profile
why vulnerability is strength
The difference between a maximiser and a satisfier
Logan’s husbands cancer
Living on a commune
You can find out which of the 3 dating tendencies you are with Logan’s quiz, here: https://bit.ly/491O3lj
You can purchase Logan’s book, ‘How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love’, here: https://amzn.to/476uvdV
Follow Logan:
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3SddZUL
Twitter: https://bit.ly/46IWMqV
Follow me:
https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo
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Hinge: Justin McLeod (2021)
In 2010, Justin McLeod was in business school, still trying to get over a bad breakup that had happened years before. Determined to solve his own problem and convinced that the best way to meet people was through friends of friends, he built an app to replicate that experience. Gradually, Hinge grew into a streamlined swiping platform that yielded mixed results: good dates, bad hookups, mismatched swipes, and missed opportunities. Disappointed with this outcome and inspired by a sudden twist in his own love life, Justin redesigned Hinge as an app for finding meaningful relationships, with the tag line "designed to be deleted." Today, Hinge is owned by Match Group and is one of the most popular dating apps in the U.S.
This episode was produced by J.C. Howard, with music by Ramtin Arablouei
Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Daryth Gayles.
You can follow HIBT on Twitter & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Couples, Money, and the Future of Dating Apps
In Pivot’s first (and possibly last) dating-themed show, Kara and Scott discuss expert predictions on the future of dating apps, and listener questions about romance, finance, and personal marketing.
You can find Logan Ury, Director of Relationship Science at Hinge, on Twitter at @loganury and Julia Naftulin, Health Reporter at Insider, at @jnaftulin.
**Today’s show contains mature adult themes and is not intended for younger audience members.
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#457 - Logan Ury - Hinge's Relationship Scientist Gives Dating Advice
Logan Ury is the Director of Relationship Science at Hinge, a Harvard-trained behavioural scientist and an author.
Modern dating is difficult. Thankfully Logan has access to all the data from Hinge and can conduct as many studies as she wants on trends and preferences from thousands of people in and out of relationships.
Expect to learn why an intentional approach to dating seems like a turn-off but is a very smart strategy, why you should start looking to settle down after dating 30% of your partners, what the data tells us are the most important rules for constructing a successful dating profile, why chasing The Spark is a recipe for disaster, how to break up with someone, how to get over heartbreak and much more...
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Hinge: Justin McLeod
In 2010, Justin McLeod was in business school, still trying to get over a bad breakup that had happened years before. Determined to solve his own problem and convinced that the best way to meet people was through friends of friends, he built an app to replicate that experience. Gradually, Hinge grew into a streamlined swiping platform that yielded mixed results: good dates, bad hookups, mismatched swipes, and missed opportunities. Disappointed with this outcome and inspired by a sudden twist in his own love life, Justin redesigned Hinge as an app for finding meaningful relationships, with the tag line "designed to be deleted." Today, Hinge is owned by Match Group and is one of the most popular dating apps in the U.S.
How I Built This Summit - information and tickets at:
http://summit.npr.orgSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.