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Tinder's parent company Match Group buys dating app Hinge

The online relationship behemoth, which owns apps like OkCupid, Match and Tinder, has added another platform to its ranks.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET analyzing tech trends while also writing news, reviews and commentaries across mobile, streaming and online culture. Credentials
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Abrar Al-Heeti
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Turns out Hinge couldn't out-Tinder Tinder. 

Hinge

Tinder's parent company has swiped right on Hinge.

Match Group, which already owns platforms like OkCupid, Match and Tinder, announced on Wednesday that it acquired a 51 percent ownership stake in dating app Hinge, dubbed the anti-Tinder.

Hinge, like Tinder, once included a swiping feature, which it did away with nearly two years ago. It switched to a model focused on "real" relationships as opposed to hookups. Users can create profiles and like and comment on each other's photos. If there's mutual interest, they can connect. 

Since the redesign, Hinge's user base has grown more than 400 percent, according to a press release.

"Hinge's passion for the user experience and their innovative approach to dating has created a product that is highly relevant particularly among urban, educated millennial women looking for relationships," said Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg in a statement.

Match Group now owns several of the most popular online relationship platforms. Bumble stands out as one of the few dating apps not owned by the online dating behemoth.

Other tech companies are also exploring the online matchmaking space, with Facebook announcing last month that it's developing its own dating feature. One of the social networking company's biggest advantages could be its 2.2 billion active users