Hey @Virtualgoodz, thanks a lot for the feedback!
Basically FireChat's Nearby feature and the protests happened here in Istanbul inspired us to create Flows. It is using the same MultipeerConnectivity framework as FireChat.
The differences from FireChat are these;
- Flows doesn't have any servers so there is basically no registration, data logging etc. All data is on users' devices which can be deleted. It only collects anonymous analytics, like page views and crash reporting data and you can turn them off easily via settings.
- You can create different #flows inside the app which are similar to the channels in IRC. And they can be private. If you choose so while creating, other users in the network has to create a #flow with the same name to join the conversation. If it is not private, it is visible to everyone immediately when you send the first message.
- Every user has a username and a unique colour signature (consisting of 3 colors) which they cannot change. So if there are 5 guys with the same username in the flow, you can distinguish them somehow.
- This is a side project of two guys :)
And thanks a lot for the website feedback! @kee_ross is the talent who is behind it
Cheers!
When I read, "chat with people nearby without an internet connection," I was waiting for a snarky punchline. ;)
@frkncngz / @kee_ross - I can imagine the crowded concert use case but when no one knows about Flows on day 1, how do you make it valuable for people? Are there one-to-one use cases for this where internet-connected chat apps don't work?
EDIT: I just thought of one: schools. Some high school campuses block cellphone reception indoors. I can imagine using this with friends in the back of the classroom in this situation. :)
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