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Israel introduces ‘bomb shelter dating' app amid Iran war; netizens call it ‘gross’
It is meant to help people connect while they wait inside shelters during air-raid sirens.
A military conflict has erupted in West Asia as Iran attacks its neighbouring Gulf states in retaliation for the United States-Israeli strikes inside the country. In the middle of the turmoil, Israel has introduced a concept called “bomb shelter dating”, aimed at helping people meet and interact while they take cover during air-raid sirens.
In a post on X, Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs spoke about several “creative” tools being used even during “missile fire”. These included a dating app that shows “who’s single even under fire”, a bomb shelter tracker and a shower risk protector that helps people choose safer times to take a shower. Follow Iran-US war live updates here.
‘Bomb shelter dating’ amid conflict
According to the ministry, one idea is a “dating app in the bomb shelter”. It is meant to help people connect while they wait inside shelters during air-raid sirens.
The platform reportedly displays singles who are also taking shelter nearby. “Shows who's single because even under fire, love goes on,” the ministry wrote on X.
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The Hooked app, which was first created for speed-dating, is now being used as a conversation starter inside bomb shelters. People inside a shelter place a QR code at the entrance. Singles who scan it can then check who else in the same bunker shares the same relationship status, The Times of Israel reported.
US’ ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee shared the post on X and wrote: “Someday they will tell their kids ‘we met on a dating app in a shelter while dodging ballastic [sic] missiles.’”
Another tool called “bomb shelter tracker” keeps track of how many times users need to move to shelters. It also estimates how much sleep people lose because of repeated sirens at night.
There is also a “shower risk predictor”. The application studies recent siren alerts to estimate the chance of another missile warning. “So you're not caught with shampoo in your hair,” the Israeli ministry said.
Netizens react to “creative” ideas
Social media users were not happy with these “innovations”.
One user wrote, “Man there’s something deeply, fundamentally sick about you lot,” while another posted on X, “This is gross. People are dying. People are mourning. Don’t do this.”
A third user wrote: “I hope you know no one hates you; you force everyone to hate you guys through your actions. Everyone wants peace with you, but you guys just want none of it. Why is it so hard to be normal lol.”
