Look, there are legitimate uses for background checks—employers vetting candidates, landlords screening tenants, that sort of thing. But Instant Checkmate isn't marketing itself that way.

Instead, it's pushing you to 'vet your dates,' look up your exes, and 'indulge your inner true crime buff' by searching notorious criminals. That's not safety—that's surveillance culture dressed up as entertainment. The app literally suggests checking yourself to see 'what's out there about you,' which is either paranoia fuel or a clever way to get you hooked.

Reddit users report the company sells your info to spammers immediately. The freemium model dangles free basic reports, then pushes you to pay for criminal and arrest records. And the whole vibe teaches the opposite of healthy relationships: don't communicate or build trust—just look people up behind their backs.

This has no place in a kid's life, and honestly, most adults should skip it too unless they have a specific, legitimate reason to run a background check. Hard pass.