Amid the violence that has exploded since Hamas’ attacks in October last year, dating app users in Israel and Lebanon appear to be witnessing a Shakespearean twist to the tragedies all around them.
The two countries are “on the brink of war”, said The National, but residents are reporting that apps are increasingly showing them potential matches with residents from the other side of the border. More than 60% of Tinder profiles in Lebanon in February were Israeli, said L’Orient-Le Jour.
What is causing it?
The phenomenon appears to be the unexpected side effect of Israeli forces’ interference with GPS signals. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “ramped up” the technique in an effort to “thwart” drone attacks from Hezbollah and Hamas, Haaretz reported in October.
There are two primary types of interference, according to CRFS: jamming and spoofing. GPS jamming is a “relatively uncomplicated technique” that involves producing a radio frequency signal powerful enough to “drown out” transmissions from GPS satellites. The target will be “instantly aware that something is wrong” as it will not be able to produce a geolocation result.
Spoofing, on the other hand, is a “more insidious form of attack”. Instead of blocking a user from being able to see their location, it sends them “false” information that suggests they are somewhere that the user will know they are not. For example, it could be used to “tell a ship out at sea that it is currently located on land”. This is a far more targeted version of interference than jamming.
It seems jamming is causing the dating app geolocation confusion. Israel has long been using advanced technology like drones and GPS to defend its borders, according to The Times of Israel, but this appears to be the first time this match-making mishap on dating apps has been recorded.
What has the reaction been?
A number of people in Israel and Lebanon have taken to social media to share the “surprising matches” they have started receiving on dating apps, said The National.
“I think Israelis and Lebanese alike have grown accustomed to total separation to the point where encountering the ‘enemy’ is basically unthinkable,” a Tel Aviv resident, told The National. “Now, with a little bit of GPS jamming, these two enemies are casually swiping past each other.”
However, these minor interactions may only serve to remind Lebanese and Israelis of the seemingly insurmountable divisions separating the two countries.
“I keep seeing them and they’re absolutely gorgeous, but I can’t do anything because we’re divided by an apartheid wall and a genocidal army that doesn’t take too well to Arabs,” a Lebanese dating app user told the news site.