There’s really no excuse for going on a date in this day and age without knowing anything about the person — even if they’re a complete stranger. With so much information available about people online whether through Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, or the like, it’s relatively easy to find out way more information than you probably want to know. And now there’s an app for that.
DateCheck by Intelius (more on them below), which launched today at the DEMO conference in San Diego is an iPhone app that allows you to look up a whole range of information about the person you’re on a date with. All you really need is one piece of data as a starting point. It can be something as simple as a name, an email address, or a phone number. From there, you can look up a whole range of information.
The best feature is the “Sleaze Detector”. Basically, this takes the information you collected and does a background check on the person to see if they have a criminal record. This works by current or previous registered addresses that the person has. You can also check out a person’s net worth, their living situation (are they living with their parents), as well as get the usual range of information from Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Unfortunately, though Intelius didn’t really mention it on stage, obtaining all of this information costs money, as TechFlash notes. For example, a criminal check is $19.95. Pulling social network info? $9.95. So while the app itself may be free, the service is anything but.
All of this is more than slightly creepy, but with tag lines like “hook up before you look up” it was an easy crowd favorite at DEMO. Unfortunately, Intelius, and its co-founder Naveen Jain, have a bit of a sketchy history, including allegations of fraud. Jain, who left InfoSpace to start Intelius, was said to be buried in lawsuits back in March, and the company was looking like it could be in trouble.
Have things turned around for Intelius? Will a hooking up app save them? In a world where a sex offender finder app was a hit, it seems like this certainly could be. But the extra costs will likely kill it. Hopefully, Intelius is up front about these costs unlike it has been in the past.
I also hope people don’t try to go to do a Google search for “datecheck” — the first result is an “Escort Directory of Female MILF Escorts.”
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