“Accidental incest” is a common problem in Iceland, apparently. So much so, that there was a need to develop an app to help curb the issue. Most Icelanders have descended from the Norse or Celtic settlers that arrived on the island in the 700’s and 800’s. With a population of just 320,000 the likelihood of you scoring a relative is fairly high.

One of the causes of the problem is the Icelandic naming convention. Each persons father’s name becomes the child’s last name. Therefore each generation does not carry on the surname. Even if you are family, telling who is and who isn’t is difficult, as aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and so on all have different last names.

This prompted the developers from Sad Engineers Studios to come up with an app that would combat the problem. As its base, the app uses Islendingabok resource –  an online genealogical database that contains records of more than 720,000 Icelanders with records dating back 1,200 years.

The app allows two people who both have the app to bump their phones together. If they share a grandparent, an alert will appear telling the two to NOT go any further with their meeting. This feature is called, “Incest Spoiler.”

The app has enjoyed almost 5,000 downloads since its launch just a few days ago. It has a rating of 4,6 out of 5, which means that Icelanders are clearly satisfied with the app. Some wish the app had been launched much sooner.

If I’d had this in earlier maybe I would not go home with my aunt.

The News of Iceland decribes the “Incest Spoiler” as “a precious feature” used to prevent a situation when “someone goes all in with someone and then later runs into that person at a family gathering some other time.”

[Source: Wired]