iPhone apps run background checks on your date
IT World, Brad Reed, November 18, 2009
November 18, 2009, 06:09 PM — Network World — In a move that is sure to make
playboys everywhere nervous, Internet company PeopleFinders has created two iPhone
applications that let users perform background checks on their potential dates.
The apps, known as "Stud or Dud?" and "Are They Really Single?", utilize data
culled from countless public records to give users a more complete picture of whom
they're going out with. PeopleFinders President and COO Bryce Lane says his company
collects data from "thousands of sources" across the country from "federal governments
to the very smallest city governments." He says the company then uses algorithms to
sort through the data and make comprehensive files that will give users a reliable
picture of who the person is.
From there, the data is placed in PeopleFinders' database and is put up for sale. While
both of the applications the company debuted today cost a mere $0.99 to download, users
can only access records by either paying $9.95 per record or by paying an annual
subscription fee of $24.95. In the case of "Stud or Dud?" users have the option of
using simply by a person's first and last name, by their age and hometown, or by their
phone number. From there, the program gives you a list of potential matches to
choose from.
Once the user thinks they've found their match, they can then access all of
PeopleFinders' records on them and learn whether they own property, whether they have
a stable address history, whether they've ever gone bankrupt, whether they're married
or are in a possible relationship and whether they have a criminal background or are
registered as a sex offender. Lane cautions, however, that the program cannot guarantee
100% that all of its information is accurate, especially in cases where the person
you're searching for has a relatively common name. Lane says that like any search
engine, "Stud or Dud?" will work better the more information you put into it.
If "Stud or Dud?" is meant to be a comprehensive background check, the "Are They
Really Single?" app is more tailored to answering the specific question of whether
someone is either married or potentially in a long-term relationship. It could surely
make those with philandering lifestyles like that of Mad Men's Don Draper more than
a tad nervous. Much like "Stud or Dud?" the app combs through thousands of marriage
records, divorce records, common addresses and wedding dates to provide users with
information about whether the person they're seeing is really single.
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