Meet 'Hater,' a dating app that connects you with people who hate the same things you do

If you've ever bonded with someone over your shared dislikes, you're not alone — and it could help you find lasting love.

That's the premise of Hater, a dating app that matches you with other users based on things you both hate. The app is only about a month old, but it's amassed about 200,000 users in the US and abroad — it's the No. 1 lifestyle app in Germany right now, the company says — with plans to "take on Tinder."

Using the app isn't all that different from other popular dating apps — you swipe left and right on potential suitors and there's an option to chat with them in the app — but Hater aims to straddle the line of being personality-focused (like Match or OkCupid) with the ease of Bumble or Tinder.

Here's how it works:

Hater is the brainchild of Brendan Alper, a former banker who quit his job to become a comedy writer. Hater started as a sketch for a show until Alper realized the idea had the potential to be a real app.

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Alper told Business Insider that the idea really took shape after he read a 2006 study that said people who dislike the same things form closer bonds with each other. 

The app requires a Facebook account in order to sign up. Once you log in, Hater sets up a basic profile for you, which you can then go in and customize. You can swap around the photos and alter the age range if you'd like.

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Hater then gives you a quick tutorial on how to navigate the app. When browsing the topics, you can swipe four ways to indicate how you feel.

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You're then presented with a variety of topics to choose between. Not much is off-limits, including food, politics, sports, and a few not-safe-for-work topics, like thongs and strippers.

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There are a few topics that are off-limits, however: Alper says Hater does not allow hate speech of any kind on the platform. The topics do not include any racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups and all the topics are chosen by the Hater team, not by the users. 

There are currently about 3,000 topics to choose from on the app, and they're frequently updated with the day's trends.

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Occasionally, though, Hater strays into weird territories. Texting while driving is illegal in most states (who would choose "love"?) while manners are an odd thing to "hate." But if you don't have an opinion on a topic or simply don't want to say, you can tap to skip it.

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Hater also asks about abortion, your opinion on former president Barack Obama, and "offensive jokes." While initially a bit off-putting, Hater has the right idea: Disagreeing on some core issues may affect a couple's ultimate compatibility. If an issue is a deal-breaker for you, you'll at least know how someone stands before you even swipe right.

By holding down your swipe in any direction, you can see how other people on the app voted. Donald Trump isn't very popular with Hater's users.

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Here's how my profile shook out when I took a break from swiping on topics. Everything seems to be in order here.

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By swiping along the top menu, you can see the breakdown across all four categories. If you don't want something to appear in your profile, or you want to change your vote, just tap on the topic. Tapping on a topic will also allow you to add it to your list of the top five worst things, which are the things you hate above all else. 

Since Hater is constantly adding new topics, you can constantly update your profile with likes and dislikes. Alper said he's heard of couples getting on the platform just to play with the topics feature.

Once you've listed your likes, dislikes, loves, and hates, Hater starts finding matches for you. You can scroll through matches much like other dating apps, swiping left on those you're not interested in and right on someone you'd like to get to know.

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Hater shows you how compatible you are — this gentleman and I were an 80% match! — as well as the person's age, how far away they are from you, and whatever photos they have up. Tapping the bottom of the screen lets you see which topics you have in common.  

(Business Insider has disguised the names and faces of other users on the app)

Hater also shows you the person's top most-hated thing, if they've added one. In this guy's case, it's "bad style," which is one of mine too.

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The app uses an algorithm to determine compatibility. Saying you "like" Donald Trump, for example, might up your Republican score and match you with someone who also appears to be a Republican.

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Hater is only available on iOS for now, and is only available in English. But Alper said the team is working to translate Hater into other languages and launch an Android version of the service.

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You can try Hater for yourself by downloading it from the App Store.

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