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Weekly Ad#inTheNews {min-height:20px;} Advanced Search Advanced Search X include all of these words: include any of these words: include this exact phrase: exclude: Select a date range this week past 30 days past 3 months past year Create a custom date range From: To: TechnologyThe business and culture of our digital lives, from the L.A. TimesWith Blendr app, find a date nearbySeptember 9, 2011 | 6:55pm
Blendr, a location-based dating app, uses your phone's GPS to find suitable dates nearby.
The new app, which is free for Apple iOS devices and on Facebook, works by coupling location with like interests. Romance seekers write a short profile on the app, including a picture, a brief description and picking from a long list of potential interests to help filter out people who don't dig their hobbies of water skiing and watching British dramas.
Founder Joel Simkhai has previously come out with another GPS dating app called Grindr, for gay men. The popular tool now has more than 2 million users worldwide, according to the company, and even spawned a political scandal in Puerto Rico (think Anthony Weiner, but with an app instead of Twitter).
To use, the lovelorn must open the app on their smartphones, which will then show profiles of people nearby with similar interests and in the desired age range. You can chat up anyone who catches your eye and, if you hit it off, arrange to meet.
Several similar location-based apps -- such as Skout and Are You Interested? -- have been around for years, sparking at least one marriage.
To ensure safety and discourage stalkers, Blendr only gives a rough approximation of how far away a user is -- never their exact location. You can also choose to hide your profile from anyone except those meeting your exact age specifications.
Simkhai has insisted that the apps are as much about friendship as they are about finding a romantic match. Before settling on Blendr, he originally called the new app "Project Amicus" (Latin for friend of the court).
Even married people, he said, can find a platonic buddy through these apps.
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Photo: Dustin Robertson, a music video editor and personal trainer, uses Grindr at the Abbey in West Hollywood. Through the location-based dating app, he has found both clients and romantic partners. Credit: Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times
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