Think twice before installing online dating apps

Have you met people through online dating apps? Madlen Davies reports for MailOnline

It's difficult to put exact figures on the amount of people who meet through apps in the UK but the Online Dating Association says that between 25 per cent and 40 per cent of new relationships now start that way.

Dating apps are increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) with potentially catastrophic consequences, a leading doctor has warned.

Dr Peter Greenhouse, of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH), says the apps could trigger an 'explosion' of HIV in heterosexual people.

Speaking to BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat, he said: 'You are able to turn over partners more quickly with a dating app and the quicker you change partners, the more likely you are to get infections.'

The latest figures from Public Health England show rapid rises in some STIs.

There has been a 33 per cent rise in syphilis and a 19 per cent increase in gonorrhoea in 2014.

The news follows similar warnings in the US, where experts warned dating apps make casual sex as easily available as ordering a takeaway.

In May this year, The Rhode Island Department of Health revealed from 2013 to 2014, cases of syphilis rose by 79 per cent, gonorrhoea by 30 per cent and HIV by almost 33 per cent.

They said the rise - which mirrors a national trend - can be attributed to dating apps such as Tinder and Grindr.

And in September this year, The AIDS Healthcare Foundation launched a new billboard campaign in Los Angeles, drawing users' attention to the risk of catching chlamydia and gonorrhea during casual sex among young adults.

The charity said a rise in STDs corresponds with the growing popularity of dating or 'hookup' mobile phone apps.

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