The best and worst things to talk about in your dating app profile, according to Hinge

Most dating apps give you the option of sharing a snippet of text about yourself, which often comes in the form of a mini bio.

But staring at that empty little box can be stressful. How can you sum up who you are in a few words? Which random questions about yourself are you going to answer for the world, and in what tone?

A bit of research from relationship-focused dating app Hinge might help you answer those questions.

In its own app, Hinge helps people get the conversation started by giving them various prompts to answer, which they can pin to their profile. So Hinge decided to look at which prompts were most effective, and found that some prompts, and types of responses, are much better than others at getting people dates.

Hinge found that people generally like self-deprecation, confessions, and spontaneity. But they don't like self-promotion, hints for what you'd like to do on a date, and discussions of family dynamics.

The results also vary by gender. Men get a bigger bump for being self-deprecating than women do, while women get a bigger boost for sharing secrets.

These are the best and worst responses Hinge found, and how they impact your likelihood of a match.

The good:

• Self-deprecation: +4%. Examples: "Worst idea I've ever had" and "Worst fad I've participated in."
• Confessions: +59%. Examples: "Two truths and a lie" and "Worst first date."
• Spontaneity +139%. "Next vacation I want to go on" and "On my bucket list."

The bad:

• Family dynamics: -44%. Examples: "My parents named me after" and "My family in a nutshell."
• Date hints: -46%. Examples: "Movie I'm dying to see" and "My favorite bar."
• Self-promotion: -53%. Examples: "Find me on Snapchat" and "My theme song."

Hinge also found that, like for gender, results varied a bit by different US cities. Here's a short summary of Hinge's findings, from hospitable Dallas residents, to Los Angeles dreamers, to New York City partiers.