Skip to main content

Timehop realizes you might not want to see photos of your ex on Valentine's Day

Timehop realizes you might not want to see photos of your ex on Valentine's Day

/

The time capsule app lets you walk away from bad memories today

Share this story

Break-ups are rough, but on days like today (it's Valentine's Day, if you managed to forget), being alone can be especially difficult. That's why Timehop's Valentine's Day warning screen is the best example we've seen recently of a company recognizing that humans are really just extraordinarily delicate balls of surging emotions.

If you log in to the time capsule app today, you'll see a cheery-looking warning screen:

timehop-valentines-day

The graphic for #Valentimehop reminds you that if you go hunting for memories of Valentines past, you're in for a heavy dose of "exes and feels." If you're feeling emotionally solid, you can continue on, or you can heed the warning and walk away. Given Facebook's recent Year in Review debacle, in which users were shown photos of deceased family members or happier days from defunct relationships, Timehop's move is a thoughtful one. Ultimately, the decision to avoid temptation here falls to the user rather than an algorithm.

Timehop profits off our love of nostalgia, but nostalgia can be a wicked potion, and Timehop recognizes that. Now, if only the app would prevent users from seeing poorly lit photos of college parties.