Cuddlr App Is For Real.... Matches Strangers Looking for Hugs

Ever just need a hug? Even from a stranger? Yep. There’s an app for that.

Calling itself Cuddlr (what’s with all the apps that drop the letter e?) this new application, available for download on the Apple Store, claims it’s not just another dating website, and hooks up strangers who’d like to meet up for some guilt-free, no-strings-attached cuddling in public. Or (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) private.

According to the description in the App Store, “Cuddlr is a location-based social-meeting app for cuddling. Find people near you who are up for a cuddle. Have a cuddle with them. No pressure. Cuddlr provides a welcome break from hookup culture, while still making it easy to meet people near you and establish a physical connection.”

In the video posted here we see what purports to be a typical Cuddlr success story, starring a man and woman who don’t look like they need to steal random hugs from strangers. Maybe that’s the point?

The free app takes a subscriber’s local information, posts a photo and lets the web do the rest. At this point (Cuddlr launched in August) it’s not likely there’ll be a big pool of users in any given area. But, in time, if Cuddlr takes off, that could change.

That is, of course, if Cuddlr can overcome the creep factor. Meeting up with a stranger for a hug in a public place should be fairly safe. But the private option is likely to rise to the level of, say, the old “Casual Encounters” section on Craigslist. You know. Before all the murders and stuff forced the company to build some safety features in.

Cuddlr claims to have already thought of that. On its FAQ page it addresses the question, explaining “For potential cuddlers, you can see how many successful and unsuccessful cuddles they’ve had in the past. Users with a substantial proportion of reports are unlikely to have their requests accepted, and we ban anyone who is consistently using it improperly. In addition, we don’t share your location until you’ve indicated that you do actually want to cuddle this person, and you can block anyone if you don’t want them to even see you on the app.”

Sounds like a disaster in the making, but, hey, who knows? Subscribers may just follow the rules and the world will be a better place, now that we all have the chance for random hugs from strangers.

Cuddlr App Is For Real…. Matches Strangers Looking for Hugs