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Here's one way to avoid your ex: download an app

Jessica Morris, special to CNBC.com
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Want to avoid your ex? Check out this new app

Apps that help users avoid their exes and other undesirable people are creating a buzz in the tech space.

Recently launched Cloak has garnered nearly a quarter of a million downloads and its rival, Split, has reportedly attracted $1 million in funding.

The new apps pull location data from a range of social networks – such as Instagram, Foursquare and Facebook – in order to map the location of individuals in a user's social network.

(Read more: Anti-social apps start to attract investors)

It also lets users mark out individuals they would rather avoid and it will send an alert if they are close.

"You can avoid ex-girlfriends or co-workers if you're taking a sick day" Brian Moore, co-founder of Cloak told CNBC in a TV interview

Cloak launched about a week and a half ago and it has already garnered "somewhere in the realm of 240,000 downloads so far" Moore told CNBC.

Joan Vicent Cantó Roig | E+ | Getty Images

It is currently able to draw location data from Instagram and Foursquare – networks that Moore believes makes it easier to pinpoint a person's location than Twitter and Facebook.

"The location data isn't as good but it's still there so we're actually looking into adding that right now."

Tel Aviv, Israel based tech start-up Split also serves a similar function.

However it is able to draw location data from Instagram, Foursquare, Twitter and Facebook and has recently attracted $1 million in funding, according to media reports.

The ex-factor

Both founders created the apps after a bad experience and cited running into an ex as the inspiration behind the map.

Moore told CNBC: "It was about four years ago that I moved to New York and ran into my ex-girlfriend four times in six months."

Similarly Split co-founder Udi Dugan told Techcrunch "I ran into two ex-girlfriends in the same night … It was an awful night, really … I said, 'That's too much.' I was really frustrated".

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