Hinge, Tinder, Bumble… what’s the difference? We did the research, so you don't have to. All apps were adjusted to include a five–mile radius around Penn, and all had identical profiles.
Tinder
Tinder has always been the mainstream, mindless swiping that we know and love. Billed as an outlet for “friends, dates, relationships, and everything in between”, Tinder is definitely more hookup–heavy than the other 
two apps. With a limited number of right swipes before you have to pay, the new Tinder update can provide a quick confidence boost or a last minute date night date, depending on how you use it.
The Good: Out of 20 right swipes, 14 swiped back. If you’re on Tinder, you have a pretty good chance of matching with the Drexel boy of your dreams.
The Bad: People are forward. This can be good or bad, depending on how you feel about being propositioned for sex upon first message. Tinder's "super like" feature is also way too easy to accidentally utilize. Regular users get one "super like" per day, as far as we can tell you can use it on someone who you can't possibly live without.
The Bottom Line: If you want to get laid, Tinder is your pal.
[Street's Love Issue brings together user–generated essays and stories about love in all its forms]
Bumble
A lady–friendly app, with the same layout as tinder. Whitney Wolfe, a former VP of marketing at Tinder, was in a very public sexual harrassment case with the company. Wolfe wanted to level the playing field between women and men with online dating. The way Bumble works is that girls have to message first; you have to come up with something better than a simple “hey” to get your message across. You have 24 hours to message your match before he or she disappears completely. Created by former Tinder employees, this app is almost identical to the original. For same sex matches, the app has no rule on who messages first.
The Good: The boys are hot, and the girls message first feature weeds out some of the creeps you'll find onTinder. In a 15–minute swiping session, Street matched with two Philly pro athletes (Ed. note: we like that pro athlete stamina) If hooking up with NBA players is your jam, then look no further.
The Bad: If you’re someone who isn’t good at opening lines, this isn’t for you. Practice your conversation skills in Tinder, then take it to the big leagues with Bumble.
The Bottom Line: Bumble has hotter people on average, but you have to message them first. Bumble also has the option to send pictures while chatting…if you’re into that sort of thing.
Hinge
“Hinge is where relationships start” claims the strangely-named dating app. The premise behind Hinge is instead of random strangers, you only match with people who you have mutual Facebook friends with. In theory, Hinge should reduce your odds of getting murdered on a date exponentially. Hinge recently introduced a new feature that allows you to take mini quizzes while you swipe, and people who have similar results to you will be recommended.
The Good: Because you have mutual friends with every person that you match with on the app, you can tell your mom Julie introduced you, and not that you met while in line at FroGro or whatever socially acceptable lie you’re telling your family about the stranger you brought home last night.
The Bad: Definitely more familiarity, this app tells you someone’s full name, where they work, and where they went to school. Meaning, they know all of that about you as well.
The Bottom Line: Hinge only gives you a certain number of matches per day (think about 20). For someone who’s looking for instant swipe gratification, it can be annoying.
And while you’re at it:
What to do when….
… you match with the same person on more than one dating app:
-Swipe right. You’re on them for a reason, be ballsy!
… you see your ex–boyfriend’s little
-Also a swipe right. Extra points if he messages you first.
… you read in someone’s profile that they’re just looking for friendship
-Swipe left. What kind of dweeb looks for friends on a hookup app?
