Couple is a smartphone app available on iOS and Android that gives couples a private space to share their lives together. Just two people can access the app, you and your partner. Can an app really help your relationship?

Steve and I started using Couple just before his departure on a recent work gig in Stuttgart.

I know, I thought it was a silly idea too. I mean, you can already text and use Skype or FaceTime to connect, not to mention the social networks you share as a couple. The whole thing just seems too cute.

Couple App Features

Shared Calendar – To keep track of your loved one’s schedule

Lists – Guess you could use this for various purposes – list of presents my spouse could buy me when away? Things he better do when he gets home?

Text/Voice/Photo/Video Messaging – Much the same as any smartphone would have.

Location Message – You can let your partner know your exact location via GPS. If you don’t use other apps such as Find Friends, this is handy.

Live Sketch – Draw a screen picture for your partner or engage in drawing a picture together.

Thinking of You – This is a quick auto message that just says, well, “I’m thinking of you.” The message arrives via a little thought bubble that pops up on your screen.

Moments – This is an album of the photos and sketches you’ve shared.

Thumb Kiss – When you and your partner touch the thumb kiss screen at the same time on the same spot, it turns red and vibrates. Aw shucks.

The verdict

There are also a host of sticker packs – some free, some at a cost—that you can use to enhance your messaging as well. For me, that is by far the silliest part of the app, but then I’m in my 40s. They likely have more appeal to someone who isn’t old enough to remember the introduction of the fax machine as a form of state-of-the-art communication.

So, okay, I went into this experiment skeptical, but now, I’ve kind of grown fond of Couple. When you’re separated from your partner and a quick notification comes up on your smartphone that he’s thinking about you, it’s nice. Even the thumb kiss has me won over, especially since I figured out that I needed to adjust my phone settings to vibrate to get the full effect.

While I like the idea of the drawing as a mutual activity, neither of us has a stitch of artistic talent. The promotional video for the app (at bottom) shows the guy creating this fully realized, vibrant sketch of flowers that has me completely baffled. I can barely draw a straight line on the screen with my finger. Here’s an example of a joint sketch we did (if you’re drinking something right now, swallow before looking at this):

Live Sketch copy

It looks like a monkey suffering from some kind of palsy created this!

It would be great if the developers added a less talent-dependent activity to do together. I mean you can’t thumb kiss all night. Well, I guess you could but I suspect cramping would result.

Overall, the app nicely brings together in one place the usual forms of digital communication that we were already using and adds a few things to make being apart a bit more bearable.

It will be interesting to see if we sustain our use of Couple beyond the novelty phase.

How about you? How do you stay connected on a day-to-day basis with your significant other? Have you tried Couple or another relationship app?

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