Step-by-Step Guide: Building a Hinge Clone with Adalo

Building a dating app like Hinge presents unique technical challenges: you need robust user profiles with prompts, sophisticated matching algorithms, real-time chat functionality, and location-based discovery—all working seamlessly across iOS, Android, and web. Traditionally, developing such a feature-rich application required months of coding, separate codebases for each platform, and significant investment in backend infrastructure. For entrepreneurs and creators eager to enter the competitive dating app market, these barriers have long made the dream feel out of reach.

No-code platforms have changed the equation entirely, putting powerful app development within reach of non-technical founders. Adalo is a no-code app builder for database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps—one version across all three platforms. AI-assisted building and streamlined publishing enable launch to the Apple App Store and Google Play in days rather than months. With built-in collections for complex user data, visual development tools, and a marketplace of ready-made components like swipeable cards and chat interfaces, you can bring your Hinge-style dating app to life without writing a single line of code.

Why Adalo Is Ideal for Building a Dating App Like Hinge

Adalo is a no-code app builder for database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps—one version across all three platforms, published to the Apple App Store and Google Play. This makes it the perfect foundation for a Hinge-style dating app, where you need robust user profiles, complex matching algorithms, and real-time chat—all accessible on whatever device your users prefer.

For dating apps specifically, app store distribution isn't just convenient—it's essential. Users expect to find dating apps in the App Store or Google Play, and native publishing enables push notifications that keep matches engaged with timely alerts for new likes, messages, and profile prompts. With Adalo, you'll build once and reach users everywhere without managing separate codebases or hiring platform-specific developers.

This comprehensive tutorial will guide you through creating a fully functional dating app using Adalo's platform. Gartner forecasts that by 2026, 70% of new applications developed by organizations will use low-code or no-code technologies—an indicator that visual platforms like Adalo can significantly accelerate delivery (actual speed-ups vary by scope). You’ll build user profiles, prompts, matching logic, chat, and location-based discovery. You can even publish the same app to the web, native iOS, and native Android with Adalo, all without writing a line of code or rebuilding anything.

Prerequisites

Before you start, have these ready (or plan to set them up before publishing):

• Apple Developer Program (for iOS submission): $99/year.
• Google Play Console (for Android submission): $25 one-time.
• Maps/Geolocation setup: Google Maps Platform key (if you’ll use map components) and app privacy disclosures.
• Basic brand assets: App name, icon, color palette, and screenshots (for store listings).

Why Choose Adalo for a Hinge-Style Dating App

Platform Advantages for Dating Apps

• Built-in collections & relationships for complex user data and matching logic.
• Visual development for fast UI builds (swipe cards, chat lists, modals).
• Component Marketplace with swipeable cards, maps, and UI helpers.
• Cross-platform publishing to iOS, Android, and web (PWA) from one project (store submissions happen separately).

Essential Features for Your Hinge Clone

Core Dating Features

• User profiles with multi-photo galleries
• Matching logic & mutual likes
• 1:1 messaging between matches
• Location-based discovery & distance filters
• Authentication (sign up/login)
• Push notifications for matches/messages

UX Elements

• Profile prompts with guided answers
• Swipe/scroll discovery and mutual interest cues
• Activity indicators (recently active)
• Report/block controls

Safety Basics

• Photo verification flow (camera/file upload + review)
• Location privacy & consent prompts
• Moderation queue for reports

Setting Up Your Workspace and Database

Step 1: Create Your Adalo App

1. Sign up at Adalo.com
2. Create New App → Mobile App
3. Name it (e.g., “DateConnect”)
4. Choose Start from Scratch

Step 2: Theme & Branding

1. Pick a primary brand color and contrasting CTA color
2. Select readable fonts
3. Add app icon & splash
4. Continue to the builder

Step 3: Build the Users Collection

Add/confirm fields in Users:

• Display Name (Text)
• Age (Number)
• Bio (Text – Multiline)
• Profile Photos (Image – allow multiple)
• Location (Location)
• Gender (Text/options)
• Looking For (Text/options)
• Interests (Text/multi)
• Height (Number)
• Job Title / Company / Education (Text)
• Verified (True/False)
• Last Active (Date & Time)

Step 4: Profile Prompts Collection

Create Profile Prompts:

• Prompt Question (Text)
• User Answer (Text – Multiline)
• Category (Text)
• Display Order (Number)

Step 5: Matches Collection

Create Matches:

• User 1 (Relation → Users)
• User 2 (Relation → Users)
• Match Date (Date & Time – Automatic)
• Status (Text: “Pending”, “Matched”, “Unmatched”)
• User 1 Liked (T/F), User 2 Liked (T/F)

Step 6: Messages Collection

Create Messages:

• Sender (Relation → Users)
• Receiver (Relation → Users)
• Message Text (Text – Multiline)
• Sent Date (Date & Time – Automatic)
• Read (True/False)
• Match (Relation → Matches)

Relationships recap (at a glance):

• Users ↔ Matches (two user relations per match)
• Users ↔ Messages (Sender/Receiver)
• Matches ↔ Messages (one-to-many)
• Users ↔ Profile Prompts (one-to-many)

Authentication & Onboarding

Step 7: Welcome Screen

Include logo/tagline with key actions:

• Sign Up → registration flow
• Login → login screen
• Optional background image/gradient

Step 8: Multi-Step Registration

• Screen 1 – Basic Info: Email, Password, optional Phone
• Screen 2 – Personal Details: Name, Birthday (derive Age), Gender, Looking For, Location (device or manual)
• Screen 3 – Profile: Photo upload (min 2), Bio, Interests

Step 9: Add Profile Prompts

• List available prompts
• Let users pick 3
• Capture answers into Profile Prompts

Swipe Discovery & Card Actions

Step 10: Install Swipe Components

• Go to Marketplace → install a Swipe/Stack component appropriate for profiles.

Step 11: Discovery Screen

• Add swipe component bound to Users
• Filters: exclude current user, exclude already matched/blocked, respect preferences (age, gender, distance)

Step 12: Card Actions

• Swipe Right (Like):
  
  • Create/update match record; if the other user liked already → set Status = “Matched” and notify both users
• Swipe Left (Pass):
  
  • Record pass to exclude from future cards
• (Optional) Super Like:
  
  • Premium action + notification

Step 13: Card Layout

• Main photo, name & age, distance (if enabled)
• First prompt & answer snippet
• Visible like/pass buttons as accessibility backups

Messaging

Step 14: Matches List

• Screen: Matches
• Show matched users with last message preview & unread count
• Sort by last interaction

Step 15: Chat View

• Screen: Chat
• List messages (by Match) oldest→newest
• Input bar (text + optional attachments)
• Show timestamps & read state

Step 16: Push Notifications

• Configure triggers for new match and new message.
  Docs: Push Notifications

Location-Based Matching

Step 17: Geolocation Setup

• Ask permission on first use
• Save user coordinates (on open or via a “Refresh Location” button)
• Provide privacy toggle to hide/show distance

Step 18: Distance Filtering

• Add a distance slider to preferences (e.g., 1–100 miles/km; “Travel Mode” or global radius can be a premium perk).
• Compute distances (Haversine) via a formula or small API and store/update as needed:
  
  • Reference (math): Haversine formula

Step 19: Map View (Optional)

• Install Maps from Marketplace
• Show nearby matches with markers (respect privacy settings)

Preference Logic & Recommendations

Step 20: Preference Matching

Use Adalo actions/conditions to enforce:

• Mutual age range acceptance
• Gender/orientation compatibility
• Distance threshold
• Exclude blocked/reported

(For authoring conditions and visibility rules, see Adalo’s Action Basics and Visibility guides in the Help Center.)

Step 21: Compatibility Scoring

Create a computed Match Score (example weights—tune for your app):

• Shared interests (30%)
• Profile completeness (20%)
• Activity recency (20%)
• Distance (30%)

Sort discovery by score (or create a “Top Picks” subset).

Step 22: Smart Recommendations

• Daily Picks list
• Cap to 10 per 24 hours
• Refresh timer or midnight reset

Publishing to iOS, Android, and Web

Step 23: Store Assets & Prep

• App icon (1024×1024), screenshots, short/long descriptions
• Age rating per each store’s matrix
• Privacy policy & data handling disclosures
• (Context) Global app downloads were ~257B in 2026; quality listings help discovery.

Step 24: iOS Submission

• Enroll in Apple Developer ($99/year)
• Generate iOS build from Adalo
• Submit via App Store Connect
• Most reviews complete in 24–48 hours, though some take longer.

Step 25: Google Play Submission

• Create Play Console account ($25 one-time)
• Generate Android AAB/APK from Adalo
• Complete content rating & disclosures
• Reviews vary and can take up to 7 days or longer.

Monetization (In-App + Web)

Step 26: Subscriptions & Purchases

• For native iOS/Android digital content (subscriptions, boosts, super-likes), use platform billing:
  
  • iOS: StoreKit / IAP (via IAPHUB integration)
  • Android: Google Play Billing (via IAPHUB)
  • Policies: Apple Payments, Google Payments
• Stripe is suitable for web payments or cases outside the in-app purchase rules (e.g., physical goods, certain services).

Step 27: Premium Feature Gating

Examples:

• Unlimited likes
• See who liked you
• Extra Super Likes / Boosts
• Advanced filters
• Rewind last swipe

Implement via conditional visibility and usage counters tied to plan/entitlements.

Platform Limitations & Workarounds

Critical Constraints to Address

Performance:

• Very large collections and compound filters can slow screens.
• Deeply nested lists increase render cost.
• Heavy images/files impact load times.

Real-Time Behavior:

• Adalo relies on foreground refresh/polling on screens; true background live tracking is not native.
• Manual refresh or timer-based updates are common patterns.

Workaround Strategies

• Use External Collections/APIs for large datasets or heavy queries.
• Consider a lightweight backend (e.g., Xano/your API) for compute-heavy operations while keeping the UI in Adalo.
• Add Timer components for screen-level refresh during active sessions.
• Optimize images (dimensions/size) and paginate lists (20–25 items per page).
• Split complex flows into smaller screens to reduce on-screen computation.

Cost Breakdown & Resources

Adalo Subscription

• Plan names, limits, and prices can change—always confirm current details here:
  Adalo Pricing

Additional Service Costs

• Apple Developer: $99/year (Apple)
• Google Play Console: $25 one-time (Google)
• Maps: billed by Google Maps Platform usage (if used)
• Payments: App-store fees per Apple/Google policies; Stripe fees for web payments
• External databases/integrations may incur extra costs (varies by provider)

Marketplace Components

• Browse options and (if applicable) pricing:
  Adalo Component Marketplace

Additional Resources

• Database docs & relationships: Help Center – Database
• Actions, conditions, and visibility: Help Center – Action Basics
• Push notifications: Help – Trigger Push Notifications
• Publishing guides: Adalo Publishing
• App templates & examples: Adalo App Templates

Note: This Hinge-style clone includes prompts, swipe discovery, matching, chat, optional maps, and in-app monetization—implemented within Adalo’s native capabilities. For features like continuous background location tracking, web sockets, or complex ML ranking, integrate external services through Custom Actions or move targeted logic to an external backend while keeping the UI in Adalo.

FAQ