The Internet is a place filled with people over-sharing what happens in their daily lives, especially their location. Like many of us, we don't want everyone to know where we are, and that is where the new app, Cloak, comes into play.
Cloak is pretty useful, yet lacking in several features to make it a must own app for those who want to hide their real-life location from person's in the digital world. Cloak can also be used as a tool to check up on employees and competitors.
Right, so how does it work?
Simple really. Cloak is able to pull location data from both Foursquare and Instagram and use it to tell users how close a certain person is to their current location. By knowing this, the user can take the necessary steps to avoid a run in with the person. This works well for folks who might want to avoid an ex, parents, or even an online stalker.
Individuals will show up on the Cloak map in the form of a bubble, but they won't stay there forever. The bubble will fade in two hours, and completely fades away in four hours. This means users won't be able to completely and effectively track folks on their list.
One great thing about Cloak is that businesses can use it to remind visitors of their continued existence. For example, a restaurant could post an image, and it would pop up on the user's Cloak map.
While Cloak sounds quite promising, it has some major shortcomings. The app only works with Foursquare and Instagram, which means users won't be able to avoid persons who use Facebook, Twitter, and other popular social platforms.
Luckily, Cloak founders, Chris Baker and Brian Moore, plans to increase the app's functionality by adding more social networks. Twitter is on the plan sheet, but it is likely support might come first for Tinder and Snapchat. Facebook might be difficult to get under the fold, but totally doable still.
At the end of the day, one should not rely on an app to keep away from people in the real world. No matter what happens, it will always be difficult to avoid persons you don't want to see. Either live with it, or stay at home, the choice is yours.
Cloak is only available for iOS. You can visit iTunes to take it for a spin.
