If you’ve been let down by the growing list of cookie-cutter dating apps, you’re not alone. As a serial dater, I spent years being just as frustrated as you. Then, I discovered the Hily dating app a couple of years ago. Sadly, life got in the way and I have been sleeping on this app for a couple of years. Recently, I got into Hily again.
And now, it’s emerged as my favorite resource for pursuing both friendship and romance.
What is Hily?
Even though it’s regularly on the top ten lists, you may not have heard of the Hily app. It was founded in 2017 by Alex Pasykov, Jake Vygnan, and Dmytro Kononov. Its slogan, “Date as You Are” embodies the Hily dating philosophy which encourages authenticity. This is brought to life through features like detailed profiles that enable users to share who they truly are.
Is Hily Legit? A Marketers Perspective
So, is Hily fake, or does it deliver on its promises? I’d love to talk about that!
(But first: full disclosure. I’m passionate about marketing. And no, I’m not here to sell anybody on Hily. But, my marketing brain impacts how I think about things, and how I describe them.)
Let’s start with dating apps in general. Most of them are based on a marketing funnel, where you are the product traveling from the top of a funnel to its bottom (I know that sounds objectifying, but again—I have the marketing brain!).
So, logically, the top of a funnel is the widest part (because not all of us choose to react to all ads we see—luckily) so there’s not much discretion there.
Inside an online dating app (be that Hily or any other), the top of the marketing funnel is where the swiping and resulting likes come into play.
Is this good or bad? That depends.
For so many apps, the top of the funnel is just too wide. You get likes and recommendations that are just baffling, from people who have zero in common with you and don’t align with your preferences at all. It’s like a firehose of irrelevant disappointment. They talk to you—and then, after spending days and weeks trying to arrange something with them, you realize they were not for you from the very beginning.
So what I like about Hily is that their funnel is still there. You still get a crazy number of likes. But you get conversations only with those who are really compatible with you. And so, you don’t waste time chasing empty talks
But if you don’t have tons of likes but a bunch of chats, does it mean that Hily is a scam? Of course not! That’s just a normal part of dating, and I love that I spend so much less time sorting through irrelevant profiles than other apps.
Best of all, I love the fact that it’s so much easier to progress into something meaningful that meets my needs. Moving down the funnel I might get just a few messages, and then only a couple of dates. But, those connections are almost always lasting, and authentic.
I’ve genuinely made amazing friends with girls that are so much different than what I’ve encountered on other apps. I liked Hily two years ago, and it’s only gotten better since their major rebranding a year ago.
My Final Thoughts
There’s a lot of negative buzz around Hily, but the truth is that it works how dating apps are supposed to, with some great improvements.
When I started using Hily again, I was impressed with improvements I saw in the UX. I also love the deeper focus on user safety and authenticity. It’s working great for me, and I can see myself using it even when my dating goals change. Definitely recommend this one for other single guys and gals.
