While trying out Stud/Dud and Single?, two romance-themed iPhone apps, I've realized that I've got a lousy relationship history. First I discovered that several ex-boyfriends were "duds," then that one was actually married...to his grandmother. I can't look anymore!
Stud/Dud and Single? are pretty much public record search engines repackaged in a neat app format. There's not much to making a search with either aside from entering a name (and any details that help narrow down the query) and you'll get partial results on the iPhone and the rest emailed. But if you want, you can see video guides of the search procedures here and here.
Stud or Dud
The idea behind Stud/Dud is that it parses public records and checks for stable address history, real estate ownership, business records, professional licenses, bankruptcies, criminal records and evictions in order to determine whether you've got a "stud" or a "dud" on your hands. I've unfortunately had more than my fair share of "duds" based on this app, but they were still lovely people. Except the guy who ran off with some knee high stockings of mine. I never did figure out what happened there.
Are They Really Single?
I thought that the things I found out through Stud/Dud were going to be as depressing as it gets, but Single? proved me wrong. The app checks for marriage, divorce, spousal and other domestic relationships and then determines the likelihood of the person still being in that relationship. I didn't really care about any former lovers being in relationships, but I still tossed a few names into the search to try it out. And found out that my high school sweetheart is married to his grandmother. Awkward shock aside, the app did say that it's "unlikely" right below the "wife" designation, but geez, that's quite an error to make. At least I really hope it's an error.
After that final mortifying search, I gave up. I didn't even want to enter the last ex-boyfriend's name since at the rate I was going he'd have four wives in three states and one would be his sister. But if you're braver than I and in the mood for some horror, the apps are $.99 each through the App Store and there are various charges if you want a detailed background history (addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, etc), but honestly I think this is a fun app that shouldn't be used for such creepy things. In other words: Please don't stalk anyone. [Stud/Dud and Single?]