Love is in the air and on your phone. 

I saw a Valentines Day card on Etsy that read “There’s no one I’d rather lie in bed and text”. Technology has given us many more options for Valentines Day ideas and romantic days and nights the rest of the year. Namely, apps.

Of course, we don’t even have to mention dating apps such as OK Cupid, Match, Tinder, and Badoo. These all connect to your Facebook account (if you want it connected). The app Hinge doesn’t require the Facebook profile any longer. I thought that would be helpful since the app helped find single friends of friends of friends.

Facebook is set to release its own dating feature. It is still in beta testing in other countries before it starts to roll out here. It will not be a stand-alone app but will appear on the Facebook profile with a heart which will apparently mean they are single and ready to mingle. It will also be a free feature.

“Hater” goes about finding matches in a different way. Rather than connecting couples based on their mutual likes, “Hater” searches for people who hate the same things. Once a user answers a few questions such as “How do you like it when people use the expression ‘as if’?” or “black licorice?” There are thousands of questions. Once you’ve answered some “Hater” searches its database for like-minded people.

For anyone who feels the need to check out a person before that first date, there’s “Stud or Dud”. This app lets you search by a person’s name and then it scans public records to find that person in the same area you are in. The public information available is the same information anyone can get at the courthouse. Has the person ever been arrested? Are they single? Have they ever filed for bankruptcy? And it’s all perfectly legal.

For married couples “Urban Sitter” may be the best romantic app in the app stores. It is an easy way to find a last-minute baby sitter. The app is well respected and the sitters who are listed have gone through a background check. You open the app and request a sitter for a particular day or evening. It’s great, especially for last-minute dates.

Sitters are listed with email addresses and there might be dozens of referrals from parents who’ve hired them in the past. If any of your Facebook friends have used the sitter it will be listed as well.