Finally, an App for Haters Who Want a Lover

Just in time for Valentine's Day, a new dating app aims to match you with your beloved—based on things you hate. If that sounds like a negative basis for a new relationship, the folks at Hater disagree. "Meet someone who hates the same stuff," the app chirpily declares with an upside-down heart. People disgusted by current events, "paying for extra guacamole," "slow walkers," or gluten-free food can swipe the app by subject in search of a soulmate. "It's easy to start a conversation with someone if you know you both hate pickles," Hater CEO Brendan Alper says, per Digital Trends. "What we hate is an important part of who we are."

Based on mutual dislikes, Hater culls candidates for users to meet. As more people use the service, the list of dislikes will grow, though there are 2,000-some turn-offs are already built in, such as cilantro and black and white photos. "We want people to express themselves more honestly," says Alper, though he's quick to emphasize that hate speech and bigotry are not welcome. Hater marks a turn away from looks-based match-ups, reports the Telegraph, or other apps like Hinge that tell a "story" about users by sharing information such as what they are listening to in real time. Research shows that negative opinions are often more effective at bonding people together than positive ones. "It’s not that we enjoy disliking people," a researcher once told the New York Times. "It’s that we enjoy meeting people who dislike the same people." (For online dating sites, it's complicated.)