Hinge works well if you’re in a supported country and your location doesn’t change too much. Problems arise when you travel to a restricted region, reside in an unsupported country, or attempt to return after a ban.
A VPN can solve these issues by changing your IP address and encrypting your traffic, but if you use it carelessly, it can also get you banned or shadowbanned.
Why People Use a VPN with Hinge
Most people use Hinge with a VPN to bypass geo-restrictions in countries like China, UAE, Russia, and parts of Eastern Europe where Hinge isn’t available.
Hinge blocks certain countries supposedly for reasons like:
- Local government restrictions or censorship.
- Risk of scams targeting foreign users in certain regions.
- Compliance with sanctions or legal requirements.
- Internal safety concerns for users in politically sensitive areas.
It’s also useful for traveling without losing access, by keeping your location “locked” to your home country.
VPNs help protect your privacy from Hinge, as it logs IPs and ISPs. But that’s not all: many find that adding a VPN to the reset process aids in reversing bans.
How VPNs Affect Hinge
When connected, Hinge sees the VPN server’s IP and location. If the IP is from a supported country, you can open and use the app.
But, the detection systems may flag:
- IP range recognition (known VPN server blocks).
- IP/timezone mismatches (device clock vs. IP location).
- Device fingerprinting.
- Photo hashing (detecting reused banned account images).
- Facial recognition in selfie verification.
With that in mind, you’re at risk of getting banned if you’re careless with your VPN activity. Some have gotten instantly banned after turning on a VPN to change location.
Switching VPNs constantly could penalize you as well. E.g., using ExpressVPN, and then switching to SurfShark.
When You Travel, Make Sure to Do This with Your VPN
Shadowbans are plausible from frequent location changes, resulting in zero matches. If you’re big on traveling, this is quite problematic.
The good news is that you can appeal your ban in such cases. It’s rare but possible; directly reach out to support and explain that you were traveling. If they don’t want to listen, issue a complaint with BBB instead.
If you want to avoid a ban altogether while on the road, this is what you can do:
- Choose a reliable VPN
- Connect to one server in your home country and keep it the same.
- Match your phone’s timezone to your VPN city.
- Turn off Hinge’s location access if it doesn’t match your VPN location.
- Enable the VPN kill switch to prevent IP leaks.
What to Do When Setting Up Hinge in Blocked Regions
If you want to install Hinge in a country where it’s not available, you can access the app on your App Store/Google Play by tweaking your settings:
- iOS: Connect to a supported country in your VPN, change the App Store region accordingly, then install Hinge.
- Android: Connect to a supported country, clear Play Store cache/data, reopen, and install. If still blocked, sideload a reputable APK.
Note: If you want to see Hinge in the App Store, go to the App Store > Profile > Country/Region without VPN, but know that Hinge may flag your account as suspicious if the IP doesn’t match other provided info (e.g., distance).
Just keep in mind that payment method mismatches can prevent purchases until reverted, and some app updates may require repeating the process.
When using the app:
- Keep the VPN on every time you open Hinge.
- Match your Hinge city to your VPN city.
- Use the same server every session.
- Align your phone's timezone with the VPN city.
How to Recover a Banned Hinge Account with a VPN
Sorry to break it to you, but if you want to recover your Hinge account from a ban, you’ll need more than a VPN. Tackle the issue at the device level:
- Device: Use a new phone or factory-reset one never linked to Hinge.
- Phone number: New SIM from your VPN country; avoid VoIP numbers. If you want a powerful, anonymous phone number that works for all regions, get one from DatingZest!
- Email: New; don’t reuse old social logins.
- Photos: All new; crop/flip/edit if reusing to break hash recognition.
- Network: New Wi-Fi, mobile data, or quality VPN server in your Hinge city.
- Profile: Rewrite prompts/bios.
- Verification: Delay selfie check if possible; some wait to confirm they aren’t shadowbanned before verifying.
- Social linking: Wait at least 4–8 weeks before linking Instagram or Spotify to avoid early detection.
- Consistency: Keep VPN city, profile city, and timezone matched for the first 1–2 months.
When There Are VPN or Hinge-related issues, Do This:
You will encounter issues pertaining to your VPN or Hinge app, such as certain features not working or even the app itself.
- Profiles and other features won’t load: Switch to another server in same city, match timezone, clear app cache.
- App missing from store: Change store region or sideload APK.
- Worked before, now blocked: IP flagged; try another server/provider or get a dedicated/residential IP.
- Maintenance screen: Keep VPN on at all times; enable kill switch; try a nearby supported country.
- No matches after changes: Reduce location hopping, refresh profile, or do a full reset.
How to Choose the Right VPN for Hinge
Look for a large server network in your needed country, Obfuscation Mode to hide VPN traffic, Kill Switch, and Leak Protection. In order to avoid bad reputation IP pools, opt for dedicated/residential IPs.
Among the best VPN services, trusted by many for its wide selection and reliability, we have: NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark, ProtonVPN, CyberGhost, etc.!
However, staying under the radar and knowing what to do & what to avoid is just as important as picking a good VPN for Hinge. This is what I suggest:
- Keep profile city, VPN city, and timezone aligned.
- Always connect to VPN before opening Hinge.
- Avoid rapid country changes mid-session.
- Don’t reuse networks tied to banned accounts.
- Swipe and message at a natural pace.
Avoid: Free VPNs with small server lists, and services with poor privacy records.
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