Local birthday app is not 'creepy', says founder

Cape Town – Connecting with people who share a similar birthday with you? Well, there's now an app for that.

Birthday Mates is a startup that focuses on linking users with others who have similar birthdays. The app will also allow users to send gifts to each other.

But founder Kanayo Okwuraiwe rejected the notion that the idea was “creepy”.

“Ultimately, anyone who doesn't like the idea of knowing people who share a similar birthday with them, or thinks it is creepy will simply not register on the website (or can de-register at any time) given that the site is an ‘opt-in’ type of site, and given that the site clearly states what it is all about before the user registers,” he told Fin24.

You can use your Facebook log-in details to access the site that will likely aim to link you with 19 million people who share your birthday.

Personal data

“I have spoken to a lot of people on the subject, directly and indirectly via web search, and all the responses I got was that it is nice and enjoyable feeling knowing someone who shares a similar birthday with you. Some people likened it to meeting your ‘soul mate’,” Okwuraiwe said of the initial response to the platform.

He added that he was responsive to South African legislation around the collection of personal data. The Protection of Personal Information Act (Popi) prohibits the reckless handling of personal information.

Okwuraiwe promised that only information to run the application is collected and applies security to protect the fidelity of the data.

But there’s no holding back his ambition.

“I have bold ambitions to grow my membership base to be as big or bigger than the likes of Twitter because of the somewhat unique nature of the niche. Basically my target audience is everyone on Earth with a birthday. So that's a lot of people.”

Do you think there’s social media space for Birthday Mates? Let us know.

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