【Crime Archives】

So much for members-only.

Hinge,Crime Archives which relaunched in October as a paid relationships app, won't actually kick off everyone who doesn't fork over $7 a month.

The onetime Tinder rival will grant "early members" a free lifetime basic membership to the new version of the app.

Business Insider pointed out the discrepancy in Hinge's rebranding after a reporter there received the option for a free membership.

"Hinge is moving towards full subscription, but we know change takes time. We are offering early members, who have stood by us through this journey, free Hinge for life to ensure we have a smooth transition from free to paid," a Hinge spokeswoman told Mashable. "We’re confident that offering early users free memberships will not dilute the initial experience, because the product has been so effective out of the gate."

Users on the new version of the app are nine times more likely to exchange numbers, and 71 percent of legacy Hinge members migrated to the new app on launch day, Hinge said.

Hinge didn't clarify which users would qualify for a free lifetime membership.

Hinge's relaunch was an attempt to become the mobile, millennial-friendly version of Match.com or eHarmony.

"We believe technology has incredible potential to help people find compatible partners with which they can form successful relationships," Hinge CEO Justin McLeod wrote in a blog post ahead of the app's relaunch. "Given the current state of our culture, it’s now more critical than ever that there exist a service that helps those bold enough to seek real relationships find meaningful connections, while still being accessible to the millennial generation."