'Swab right' not 'swipe right', says new DNA dating app

Instead of swiping right, a new dating app has romantic hopefuls "swabbing" right.

Co-creators Brittany Barreto, a geneticist, and Asma Mirza, a data analyst, say their Pheramor app uses DNA to find people the perfect match.

"One of our taglines is bringing love at first sight to the palm of your hand," said Ms Barreto.

They say there are 11 genes that process attraction, and using DNA from a cheek swab (which users mail in) the app matches users based on their pheromones - the chemicals released by the body that can trigger attraction.

Ms Barretto said: "Yes, there's some strangeness in sending your spit in the mail, but I also think putting your credit card in the internet was really weird and now everyone uses Amazon."

"The DNA will not be misleading," said Ms Mirza. "You cannot lie about your genetics." 

While there is scientific proof that pheromones can cause attraction, there are many other factors that determine compatibility.

The dating tool also uses information from a user's social media accounts.

David Magnus, director of biomedical ethics at Stanford, has raised privacy concerns.

"Anybody who's signing up for this ought to look really hard at the privacy protections and not just click through the way we usually do when we're online ordering apps," he said.


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