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How did some people feel a little extra love on Valentine’s Day?

Answer: by getting a remote hug

Whether you’re in a committed relationship or digging the single life, Valentine’s Day can be rough if you’re far away from loved ones. Luckily, in addition to sending jewelry, stuffed animals and flowers, there’s an app that can send some affection.

With Hug, which is the self-proclaimed “first emoji you can feel,” you download the app, hold your phone to your heart to “record a hug,” set your mood — happy, loving, etc. — and send it to another user who could use a squeeze. 

Parihug proposes stuffed Internet of Things-enabled plush toys that can hug someone for you. You have one toy and your loved one has its pair. When one bear gets a hug, it triggers a sensor that sends a signal to its partner bear, which then gives the person who’s holding it a pleasant, customizable vibration. And if you’re not around to receive your hug? Parihug will send an alert to an app on your smartphone letting you know it’s waiting. A little more portable is RingU, a ring your wear on your finger that lets you send someone a hugging sensation when you squeeze it, which then sends an alert via your smartphone’s Bluetooth to your partner’s ring.