Nothing beats seeing your significant other's name pop up on your phone, whether it be from a text message or phone call. But for long distance relationships, these interactions are even more crucial to maintaining a healthy and happy connection. When you're having a hard day at work or school, you can't just go home and give your boyfriend a comforting hug. Sometimes all we have to work with are these technological interactions. That's why the romantic app called Couple for Iphone and Android phones is such a revolution for long distance relationships.
This incredible app was invented by a group of men who were partaking in the Y Combinator program in Mountain View, CA. While going through the program, the founders endured Skype sessions and text messages with their significant others who were abroad. None of these interactions satisfied them, so they decided to create a way to communicate with their partners that was much more fulfilling. The app was created in 2012 and already has 600,000 downloads to Iphones and Androids. Because of the fun and exciting features, it's easy to see why long distance couples would thoroughly appreciate a method to connect that was not available to them before.
Couple allows pairs of people to connect through their phones by sending pictures, sketches, and other interactions that are only possible through the app. The most innovative aspects of the app are the thought bubble, live sketch, and thumb kiss. When one of the people in the pair clicks on the thought bubble, the app sends a message to their partner letting them know that their significant other is thinking of them. If you and your partner are both using the app at the same time, you can participate in a live sketch in which you sketch on the same canvas simultaneously. This way, you can play games like tic-tac-toe or hang man as if you were sitting right next to each other.
The third feature, and possibly the cutest thing ever invented by man, is the thumb kiss. If you would like to give your significant other a thumb kiss, you open the feature and wait for your partner to join. Once you are both live on the page, you can place your thumb on the screen and your thumbprint is transmitted to your partner's screen. When your partner places his thumb over yours for 1 second, the screen turns red and vibrates, meaning that you kissed. Every time my thumb met my boyfriend's and the screen lit up and vibrated, I could not help but giggle and feel warm and fuzzy inside. Simply knowing that my partner was connected to me, even for a second, even through a mode of technology, made me feel closer to him.
After trying out all the features, sketching cute pictures of two stick figures holding hands and chasing around my boyfriend's thumb with my own, I am hooked. In addition to all the romantic features, the app has practical functions as well, like a communal calendar to keep track of work or class schedules and special dates, a "lists" feature that lets you keep track of various things in your relationship like your partner's birthday wish list, and it records all your interactions in a folder marked "Moments" which is similar to a scrapbook of your relationship. Even those who aren't in a long distance relationship can benefit from the love and romance of the Couple app, because we spend so many hours apart from our partners while we are at work, class or traveling. Couple has successfully taken the most dreaded aspects of being apart and turned them into a fun and unique way to feel closer than ever.
