From iPhone app developer and web giant PeopleFinders, come two new apps that are designed to help consumers distinguish the potential of dates. These apps, titled Stud or Dud and Are They Really Single? will perform background checks on singles for the users of each service by sifting through a great deal of public records databases. In an effort to give singles a more complete picture of their potential matches, the apps are designed to search through everything from federal databases to the much smaller municipal databases for more local infractions or other potentially damaging information on individuals. The programs then utilize a complex algorithm to arrange the information in a convenient format that users can make quick use of.
However, while the apps themselves are only 99 cents to download, the background checks are much pricier, being offered at $9.95 per inquiry on a single individual to $24.95 for annual subscription to the background checking service. While the information is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate, users will be able to find out such facts as whether the person is married, has gone through a bankruptcy, owns any property, has a criminal history or is a registered sex offender. Both apps are expected to meet with some success in an increasingly online focused dating world.