"Having been more-or-less raised on the internet, I am a loud and proud proponent of dating apps. Not to brag, but some of my closest friends have crowned me a “dating app pro” and a “seasoned professional.” Something about the straightforward, transparent nature of dating apps, plus the opportunity for flirty banter with each swipe, works incredibly well with my dating style. With that said, even I find myself at a loss for words at times. After all, there are only so many times you can think over your dating app openers before returning to something along the lines of “cuz you’re the only ten I see!”
Whether you consider yourself a dating app pro like myself, or you just created your first-ever Hinge profile, we could all use a bank of dating app openers that are sure to warrant an interesting (and useful!) response. Here are our favorite dating app openers that are unique, fun, and most of all, can help you stand out:
Questions
1. What’s your go-to order at a coffee shop?
2. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
3. What was the first concert you ever went to?
4. If you were to have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would you invite?
5. Have you traveled anywhere interesting recently?
6. What is your favorite book of all time, and why?
7. What’s a song you can’t stop playing on repeat right now?
8. Where is your favorite restaurant in the city?
9. What is your favorite thing to eat for brunch on a (potentially hungover) Saturday morning?
10. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
11. What’s a TV show or movie you’ve seen so many times that you could recite the whole thing?
12. Which sports team are you irrationally obsessed with?
13. What’s the one app on your phone that you use the most?
14. What is your go-to karaoke song?
15. If you were a dog, what breed would you be, and why?
16. What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
17. If you were the host of any reality television show, which show would it be?
18. What is your favorite podcast of all time?
19. Who is the most famous person you have ever spotted in public?
20. What is your “spirit age,” or the age you think you act like the most?
21. What does your typical Sunday look like?
22. What are your simple pleasures?
23. What is the hardest workout you have ever done?
24. What was your best Halloween costume ever?
25. What is your favorite season?
26. We seem like we should have met before—why haven’t we?
27. What are your green flags?
28. Be honest: What is your beige flag?
29. In your opinion, what songs play on a loop in hell?
Situational prompts
30. Imagine you are given a book of everything everyone has ever said about you. Would you read it or stay blissfully ignorant?
31. Imagine you could be transported to any cinematic universe: Which movie would you want to live in?
32. Imagine you were offered the opportunity to know exactly what you are going to be doing 20 years in the future, but you cannot change your future. Would you want to know?
33. If you were offered the opportunity to take a vacation anywhere in the world for as long as you want, where would you go and for how long?
34. If you were offered the choice between the superpowers of reading minds, teleporting, and speaking to animals, which would you choose?
Games and challenges
35. Send me your Spotify wrapped from last year, no explanations allowed.
36. Tell me two truths and a lie about yourself.
37. Tell me your favorite piece of strange trivia (or, for a flirtier alternative, “tell me something I don’t know”).
38. Tell me a story about the pair of shoes that you’re wearing right now.
39. Send me your top 5 most-used emojis, no explanations allowed.
40. Tell me your worst-ever date story.
41. Give me the run-down on the best mentor you have ever had.
42. Tell me your most embarrassing story.
43. Send me the most recent article you read, no questions asked.
44. Tell me your worst airport or travel story.
45. Give me your RBT (rose, bud, thorn) for this week.
46. Tell me the wildest story that happened at your high school while you were there.
47. Tell me something that people are usually surprised to learn about you.
48. Send me the last five things you googled with no explanation.
49. Invite the person to start a Spotify blend with you.
50. Scroll back 15 photos on your camera roll and send me that picture with no explanation.
This or that
51. Would you rather live in the Succession universe or the GOT universe?
52. Let’s debate: Is chocolate or vanilla superior?
53. Are you a cat person or a dog person?
54. Are you a driver or a passenger princess?
55. Would you rather be in the mountains or by the ocean?
56. Let’s debate: Chicago style vs. New York style vs. Detroit style pizza.
57. Let’s debate: Pineapple belongs on pizza.
58. Red, white, or rosé?
Silly dating app openers
59. Would you consider yourself a potentially valuable member of a trivia team?
60. Be honest: How many pictures of yourself holding a fish did you pass up for this profile?
61. Can I interest you in some mediocre conversation?
62. Going to Trader Joe’s, do you need anything?
63. So, what elaborate lie are we going to come up with to explain how we met?
64. Simply send a random assortment of emojis.
65. I have the worst luck with [insert their star sign if it’s on their profile]. Let’s go on a date?
Prompts to initiate a date
66. Hypothetically, what would you wear on our first date?
67. Walk me through your first-date routine.
68. Are you a coffee date person or a drinks date person?
69. If you were to order me a drink on our first date, what would you order me?
70. Pick your poison: a date at a museum, a picnic date, or a date at the movie theater.
71. Tell me the story of your most successful first date—let’s see if we can top it.
72. If we were in a rom-com, where would our hypothetical meet-cute be?
73. First round is on me if you pick the place!
74. What’s a bar/coffee shop/restaurant in town that you have always wanted to try but never have?
75. Tell me your most niche, out-there, spontaneous date idea.