Google has launched its 'Person Finder', an app designed to find missing persons. This app is specifically aimed at reuniting people affected by natural disasters – such as those who have lost loved ones in the recent earthquakes in Nepal.

To use it, you click on either 'I'm looking for someone' or 'I have some information about someone'. You can then enter the information specific to the person in question. 

This crowd-sourced information database has grown to around 7,500 records that can be searched for free, online or by text. Records have been created by individuals, media personnel and non-governmental agencies. Aid workers and rescue workers can, by entering a few simple details, provide vital information that anxious relatives can search quickly and easily in the hope of identifying loved ones.

The idea, of course, is that if an injured person arrives at a treatment centre, perhaps with no identification, their known details (such as gender, approximate age and physical characteristics) can be entered into the database. If someone is concerned that a loved one has been involved in the disaster, they can search for anyone matching their description, as well as searching by name. In areas where mobile signals and the internet can be inconsistent at best, this may be the surest way of reuniting missing people with their families – or providing news.

How long will it be before this app extends to helping people to search for 'everyday' missing people? Currently, people who have lost a loved one have to rely on the police, missing persons charities and their own sense of hope. Some people choose to hire private detectives to search for their missing friend or relative.

Such an app would probably not work well. People would certainly input details under 'I'm looking for someone' but who would post under 'I have information about someone'? Since few people would, presumably, enter the details of random strangers with the idea that they might be 'missing', a Google app that seeks to reunite 'everyday' missing persons with their families might not be so effective. Perhaps traditional searching methods might still have a future after all!