Breakups already have a tendency to get pretty messy. So it’s only natural that we find a way to make them even messier, right? If anyone ever puts the accomplishments of our generation into question, just remind them that someone actually created an app that ends relationships. (Literally.)
Like Tinder in reverse, Binder is an app that allows you to break up with your significant other with just a swipe to the right.
“Imagine if you could dump someone in the same way you start a relationship,” Jordan Laird, the app’s 28-year-old creator, told The New Yorker. “There’s an app for literally everything. This is the last thing that doesn’t have an app.”
The name of the app comes from the phrase “binned her.” We’re going to take a wild guess and just say that to “bin” someone is the equivalent of tossing something in the trash, since the “i’ featured in the app’s logo appears to be dotted with a trash can.
The app works by, first, asking users to type in the name and phone number of their soon-to-be exes. The users are then given a number of reasons to choose from as to why they’re ready to end their relationships. (These options include “It’s not me, it’s definitely you,” “I feel like I was maybe tricked into this” and “It’s like I’m living some sort of unwakeable nightmare.”) After you’ve chosen your excuse, the app then brings you to a screen that notifies you that your ex is being sent the memo while also giving you the option to post about your new breakup on Facebook and Twitter. (You sure aren’t holding anything back, Binder.)
We know what you’re thinking. “Why would someone ever think this is okay?” Well, thankfully, the app is a joke.
“I hope no one’s doing it seriously,” said Ian Greenhill, the app’s co-creator.
Those who are on the receiving end of the breakup receive a pretty brutal text message along with an equally brutal phone call explaining the absurd reason for their partner ending the relationship. The message, along with the Scottish voice delivering it, is actually pretty laughable.
“Your boyfriend doesn’t love you anymore, he hates your face, he thinks you’re a bore,” the pre-recorded voice croons into the phone. “In fact he is sick in his mouth whenever he sees you around.”
Laird and Greenhill work for Tennent’s, a Scottish beer company, and they designed the app as a way to poke fun at tech products.
“It’s a hectic, busy world out there, and people just don’t have time,” Laird says. “They’re Ubering and Spotifying, and they’re checking in.”
We’re not exactly sure why anyone would take something like this seriously but, after Binder’s release, it was noted that over 6,000 people had sent out breakup messages.
For those of you who can’t stand the sight of your significant others anymore and would like to give Binder a try, the app is available on iOS and Android.