Flirtini: A Secure Alternative to Meeting People in a Pandemic

The new reality many of us find ourselves in has left many of us starved for human interaction. We have turned to technology to help maintain meaningful relationships. However, this reliance on technology has caused demand to skyrocket outpacing many of our favorite app’s capabilities to ensure safe and secure use. Flirtini, a new app looks to solve many of the security issues some of us have already experienced. It is not just security Flirtini looks to address but also meets our social and psychological needs better than apps that have come before.

Very recently Facebook suffered a data breach that impacts over 500,000,000 subscribers. In 2020, Zoom suffered several incidents which led users to demand the platform upgrade its security protocols. It can be argued how successful the company was at shoring up its defenses, however, when attacks and data leaks happen much of the damage has been done. Users will question if their video streams, video calls, and photos shared have been tapped into and stolen. During a time when for many going out to meet someone is not an option, meeting in an insecure virtual setting is just as problematic. Worrying about who else is watching or listening to something that should be private puts up a barrier to meaningful interaction.

Flirtini looks to prevent insecure communications, thus reducing the barrier to meaningful communication, in several ways. The app boasts anti-scam technology as well as bot removal. To further ensure that photos, videos, and streams are kept private the app disables the option to enable screen recording and capture. By applying multiple layers of security, the app looks to protect its users by keeping information private, prevent scams in real-time, and remove bots.

Ask any first-year psychology student about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and you will receive a two-hour lecture. In short, the theory posits that all humans have needs to be met, that are placed in a hierarchy, to become a self-actualized human. Without diving too deep into the theoretical weeds, the apps we choose should meet some of these needs. If not, then the app fails to meet a human need.

Feeling safe and secure is one of those needs. Flirtini’s emphasis on security most certainly meets this very human need. What of other needs? As has been mentioned above, the current pandemic has left our social needs somewhat neglected. Going out to see a movie or have a nice dinner has become so restricted to be something that requires a high level of planning. Logistics and leisure have never been good bedfellows. Flirtini looks to bridge the divide, allowing us to meet new people and make meaningful connections, all while done from the comfort of our homes. While Flirtini is not meant to substitute in-person interaction, it does a great job of allowing relationships to grow even when our freedom of movement is taken away.

Several quality-of-life improvements are already in the works for Flirtini to better reach the goal set by its developers of safe, secure, and private human interactions. Even once we have returned to normality Flirtini will still be a valuable tool in enabling us to meet other like-minded individuals.