The IT Nerd

There’s a new app that has hit the Apple App Store as well as Google Play that has a very unique purpose. It purports to allow the Tinder generation to make sure that there’s consent before sex. The app is called Good2Go and here’s how it works. Say you meet someone and you want to sex with them, you launch the Good2Go app hand the phone off to your potential partner, and allow them to navigate the process to determine if they are ready and willing to have sex with you.

Now this YouTube video shows how “easy” this app is to use:

Here’s how things really play out once you hand your smartphone over:

• “Are We Good2Go?” the first screen asks, prompting the partner to answer “No, Thanks,” “Yes, but … we need to talk,” or “I’m Good2Go.”
• If the partner chooses “No, Thanks”, a black screen pops up that reads “Remember! No means No! Only Yes means Yes, BUT can be changed to NO at anytime!”
• If they opt instead to have a conversation before deciding the app pauses to allow both parties to discuss.
• If they choose “I’m Good2Go.”, they then have to enter their level of sobriety. The choices are “Sober,” “Mildly Intoxicated,” “Intoxicated but Good2Go,” or “Pretty Wasted.” If they choose “Pretty Wasted,” the app informs her that they “cannot consent” and they are instructed to return the phone back to its owner.
• All other choices lead to a third screen, which asks the partner if they are a existing Good2Go user or a new one. If they a new user, they are prompted to enter their phone number and a password, confirm that they are 18 years old or older, and press submit. Then, your potential partner will fill out a fourth prompt, which asks them to input a six-digit code that’s just been texted to their own cellphone to verify her identity with that app. (Previous users can just type in their phone number—which serves as their Good2Go username—and password.) Once that level is complete, they return the phone to its owner, who can view a message explaining the terms of the partner’s consent. Then, the instigator presses a button marked “Ok,” which reminds them again that yes can be changed to “NO at anytime!”

If you both want to have sex after all of that, then you’re Good2Go.

Now, I have to wonder how legally binding this is. I’m a computer nerd and not a lawyer, but I am guessing on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 in iron clad legally binding, it’s a 1. So if you’re thinking that this will protect you from a false accusation of rape, you might want to think again. But I don’t think that is the true purpose of this app. What I think it’s intended to do is to make both parties think about whom and under what circumstances they have sex with someone. Such as when they’re drunk or high where consent cannot be obtained. On that front, I think it succeeds. Though, after testing this app so that I could figure out how it works, I wonder if the five minutes of effort to obtain consent was worth it. It might have been simpler to just talk about having sex rather than use an app. Another thing that concerns me is that this app collects your phone number and stores it on a server. Even though they do have a policy that states that only law enforcement with the proper paperwork can get to this data, I have to admit that this data collection bothers me a bit.

My bottom line is this: Good2Go is an app with good intentions, but I think that you want to have sex you should just talk about it like adults rather than use an app.