- Israel launched mobile apps to help civilians cope with frequent air-raid sirens
- Apps include a dating tool, bomb shelter tracker, and shower risk predictor
- Social media users widely criticized the apps as insensitive during wartime
It's the second week of the US and Israel's war on Iran, and the Jewish state has introduced a series of unconventional - many say controversial - mobile apps to help civilians adapt to life under frequent air-raid sirens.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted about these innovations on social media, saying, “Only in Israel.”
“Missile sirens generate tech innovation. Because even with chaos comes creativity,” the post on X read.
Only in Israel ????????
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) March 9, 2026
Missile sirens generate tech innovation ????????
????Bomb shelter dating
????Plan safe shower time
????Sleep lost to sirens
Because even with chaos comes creativity✨ pic.twitter.com/9XO3eQDVt6
According to the ministry, one of the concepts is a “dating app in the bomb shelter”, designed to help people connect while taking cover during air-raid sirens. The app reportedly shows nearby singles also in shelters.
“Shows who's single because even under fire, love goes on,” the ministry wrote on X.
Another tool named “bomb shelter tracker”, monitors how often users have to take shelter and even estimates the amount of sleep lost due to repeated sirens during the night.
Another application is a “shower risk predictor.” The app estimates the likelihood of incoming missile alerts based on recent siren patterns. “So you're not caught with shampoo in your hair,” the Israeli ministry said.
Social media users didn't take kindly to the innovation.
A user on X wrote, “Man there's something deeply, fundamentally sick about you lot.”
Another commented, “The fact that this isn't a hacked or AI tweet just shows how f**ked up Israel is.”
“This is gross. People are dying. People are mourning. Don't do this,” a comment read.
A user wrote, “And that, folks, is what capitalism is about, making money out of suffering and war and calling it innovation and creativity.”
The war, now in its 10th day, began when Israel and the US launched large-scale air and missile strikes on Iran and assassinated the country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and several senior officials. The targeted strikes on February 28 also hit a girls' school in Minab, where over 180 children were reportedly killed.
Iran responded by launching missiles and drones towards Israel and US-linked targets across the region. Iran's clerical leadership appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader.
Over 1,400 civilians have been killed in US-Israeli airstrikes across Iran, the health ministry reported. More than 12,000 people have been injured.
In Israel, about 11 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Iranian retaliatory missile attacks. Over 2,000 people were reported wounded.
