Have you ever felt so desperate for human comfort that you were willing to accept a hug from a stranger? Is that awkward because strangers aren’t too enthusiastic about your displays of affection? If so, Cuddlr is the app for you!

I should know, because I’ve tried it.

Established as a location-based meeting service, Cuddlr launched on September 11. The app imitates dating apps Tinder and Grindr to bring users a “strictly PG” experience that’s all about establishing basic human contact. In contrast to the casual hook-up culture that surrounds Cuddlr’s predecessors, creator Charlie Williams wants to create a space for “closeness without pressure” in a world where “we don’t give and get enough hugs.”

Once the app is downloaded, users can see the names, pictures and ratings of of others in their area. After a “cuddle now” request is sent, the other person has 15 minutes to respond with a 140-character message. Once a mutual desire to meet is established, the app uses live-updated walking directions to guide the two potential cuddlers toward each other – where, presumably they hug and move on.

“Keep the cuddle a cuddle!” the app warns. “At times you may want to ask someone about having a coffee or learning to knit. Wait until the end of the cuddle, then ask politely.”

To ensure that users aren’t inappropriate, after a connection occurs, users can rate the interaction, choosing between “It was AWESOME”, “It was good!”, “It was okay”, “It was inappropriate” and “It didn’t happen.” Reports show up on users’ profiles and those with too many “inappropriate” interactions can be blocked or banned. Sounds an awful lot like a rideshare service you’ve likely heard of, huh?

A bit skeptical, I decided to test out Cuddlr to figure out what kind of interactions are common and hopefully get a few hugs.

Here’s what happened:

11:30 a.m. – I download the app onto my phone, connect it to my Facebook profile, and wait for the requests to come pouring in.

Nothing happens as I make breakfast, buy coffee creamer from the campus grocery store and catch up on emails.

12:30 – I decide to check out my options for Cuddle requests. Scrolling through, I’m confronted by a sea of names and faces – the app automatically uses Facebook profile pictures. Most of the users are guys – twenty-six out of the hundred users closest to me are female.

Next to people’s pictures are arrows, one pointing up and one down, with numbers next to them. If people have good Cuddlr interactions, they get an up arrow. Inappropriate meetings get a down arrow.

None of the people close to me appear to have ever actually completed a Cuddle. The screen is a sea of zeroes.

And it still appears like no one wants to hug me.

1:04 – I finally get a request! I try to figure out how to answer it. There are two bald white heads in the lower right-hand corner. When clicked on, they reveal who has asked me for a cuddle.

And it’s my boyfriend.

Which does not count at all.

But at least I get to see what the request screen looks like. I have the options to accept his request, click “later,” delete the request or block the user. Clicking “later” minimizes it – according to the instructions, it’ll automatically go away after 15 minutes.

1:23 – I decide I should probably start sending out requests, so I can get the full Cuddlr experience. I assume the app is organized by how geographically close you are to people, so I decide to send requests to the first 4 on the list – Rob, David, Lucas and Brian.

I reiterate how weird this is for me. There’s no way people actually just send each other requests to hug.

1:32 – No one has responded to any of my requests yet, but my boyfriend’s request is still there. So maybe I misunderstood about having 15 minutes to respond.

I decide to send out two more – this time to two girls and two guys – Andrew, Frank, Kayla and Paige.

There’s definitely a greater proportion of people named Andrew that use this app then in the general population.

1:46 – I decide to go all the way and request cuddles from every single person on my list.

1:48 – I only get about ten people in when someone answers. His name is Ben. His picture starts flashing in the corner and I don’t know what to do. Clicking on it isn’t working.

I think the app is freezing.

Even my phone’s surprised that someone’s accepted.

I can’t click on Ben’s picture. Or get to the home screen. Or turn my phone off.

1:52 – I finally get my phone turned off. When I turn it back on, Ben’s request is gone but someone else has accepted. I click on the picture and a map of the United States comes up, with my picture covering most of New England. It does not have the other person’s picture anywhere.

I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to send a message when you send a request, and that the other person is supposed to have a picture on this map so I can walk towards him.

When I try to get out of the map by hitting cancel, the app asks if I want to exit the cuddle. What does this mean? I’m not currently cuddling anyone? I choose to exit the cuddle.

1:58 – That was really confusing. All of my cuddle requests have disappeared. So I start sending requests again. To every single person on the list.

2:08 – Axel sends me a Cuddle request! A notification pops up at the top of the screen and his picture starts blinking in the lower right hand corner. My phone freezes again. This time when I pound the home button angrily the app closes.

When I open Cuddlr again, Axel has left me a message – “Later time? In class till 5.” His picture appears over the MIT Tunnel Network on the map. There are a series of grey dots leading me to his location and in the upper right-hand corner it says “17:03 walking.” I assume this means it would take me 17 minutes to reach Axel.

I exit the interaction and hope Axel forgets me when he gets out of class at 5:00.

2:14 – My phone dings twice and I get two notifications saying that Axel has accepted my friend request. Two identical pictures of a guy in a tux blink at me from the right-hand corner. My phone freezes again. After I exit, the same screen and message appears – “Later time? In class till 5.”

I’m not an expert on apps, but I think this one is glitchy.

2:20 – Andrew accepted my request! The app freezes again. He sends me his phone number in the message box. He’s a 22 minute walk away – near Chinatown.

I text him. 

2:23 – Felipe accepts my friend request! He has class until six, can it wait until then? I don’t know why he’s asking me a question, there’s no method for me to answer back.

My phone freezes again when I close the map. This time angrily hitting the home button doesn’t work. Neither does holding down the power button.

2:28 – Phone still isn’t working, but I get a text from Andrew on iMessage on my computer. The following interaction occurs:

2:45  – There was no one where Ben said he would be. Finding someone to Cuddle is extraordinarily difficult. My phone is frozen again.

2:52 – Ben either keeps sending me constant Cuddle requests or this app is glitching. My phone sounds like a handbell choir.

Okay, so far I haven’t gotten to Cuddle anyone. But I did have a good conversation about the app, which probably counts for something.

The way Cuddlr is designed makes it very difficult to find people, despite the map feature. When someone sends me a request, I have no idea how far away he or she is until I’ve already accepted.  Not having a chat option makes it difficult to find or identify people – users only have 140 letters to communicate everything they want, and the other person cant respond. And like Andrew said, hugging someone without chatting with them first is pretty weird.

In addition, the app was pretty glitchy. If the other person didn’t send a message when they accepted my request, it didn’t show me where they were and all my other requests disappeared. When someone did send a message, my entire phone refused to respond for several minutes.

The whole concept is a little weird – users can see exactly where another person is. I now know where half the responders go to school or work. I would guess that most people using the app aren’t just looking for a one-time hug. Like Andrew, they’re probably hoping “to meet girls” or new people.

I don’t think that our culture allows for casual, one-time intimacy. Even if people just want a friendly hug or interaction, they hope it will turn into something more: a longer conversation, a friendship, a relationship. Anything else is a little weird, a little creepy. So will the Cuddlr app take hold?  Or will it be dismissed as creepy and silly and shunted to Internet lists: “The Top 10 Worst App Ideas” or “What Were They Thinking?” Will people looking for hugs be able to get them, harassment free, every time? Will Cuddlr fix the bugs that kept shutting down my phone?

We’ll have to see – but I’m turning off my notifications.

Screenshots from Apple Store and my iPhone. Text conversation posted with the permission of Andrew.