A record number of men have abandoned dating app Hinge after the company revealed that it had introduced a new feature which informs users whether a prospective date is already in a relationship, by publishing details from their Facebook information.

Just one week after the informative new feature was unveiled, more than 450 men have already deactivated their accounts. 'We see a natural attrition rate week to week, but this was nearly 40per cent higher than normal for men,' Hinge’s VP of Marketing Karen Fein told Daily Mail Online.

'Women, on the other hand, seemed to appreciate the news, with 26per cent more than normal joining.'

Relationship status: The newest version of Hinge will automatically add relationship data from users' Facebook profiles

Hinge's latest update enables users catch potential cheaters by informing them if the person they are chatting to is already in a relationship.

In an effort to remain 'a trusted place for finding relationships', the dating app's latest version will automatically add a user's Facebook relationship status of 'single', 'engaged' or 'in a relationship' to their Hinge profile. The app has billed itself as a more relationship-friendly alternative to the 'hook-up' app Tinder because it focuses on matches that have mutual friends through Facebook.

According to the company's own research, only 3.6per cent of Hinge users are off the market – meaning that, in theory, only a small number of users should have concerns about the app’s latest update.

Hinge does not release user numbers, but a spokesperson claims that Hinge is creating roughly 40,000 dates per week, and roughly 2,000 people get in relationships per week by using the app.

By contrast, a recent survey by GlobalWebIndex found that 42per cent of Tinder users are in a romantic relationship or married.

Vetting system: Hinge works by matching friends of friends, so that daters can have a frame of reference and get the scoop on potential matches

Mutual interests: In addition to friends in common, the app allows users to browse educational history, height, religious leanings and a number of self-descriptive tags

Jason Mander, GlobalWebIndex's head of trends, explained that people were more likely to use Tinder for cheating because it is so easy to swipe through hundreds of pictures.

Hinge channels the vibe of meeting at a friend's cocktail party rather than approaching a random stranger at a bar, and sets a limit on the number of matches per day.

Having people to vet potential suitors provides a structure that many daters - especially women - find reassuring because it lessons the creepy fear factor of meeting total strangers.

In addition to mutual friends, Hinge users are able to view a potential match's age, height college and/or grad school, employer and a number of self-descriptive tags including 'bookworm', 'country clubber' and 'midnight toker'.

Daters also have the option of adding a short 'About Me' section.

But since Hinge profiles rely on daters to self-report relationship status,the update will not be a foolproof way to catch cheaters.

For Hinge users who are 'married' to their best friend or dog, it's more complicated.