There is something about photos of vacations that just stirs the mind and always brings a smile to my face with each captured memory. While there are plenty of ways to share these moments with friends and family, most traditional social media is so cluttered with junk—be it videos of cats, quizzes, games or other distractions—that such important moments tend to get lost. However, UK teen Tyler Ball is looking to change the way that people share their travels and photos with his new app Pinit.
Created to act almost like a digital travel diary, Pinit allows users to geotag photos and place a ‘pin’ on a location connected to a photo or status, and a memory. Over time, users can create their own world maps with pins showing all of the places they have visited. Friends and families can follow each other and comment an even ‘like’ photos and statuses.
“We plan to remove the rubbish out of social media,” Ball said. “Pinit has a range of features that makes it different from other social media, like the ability to make a post private or public and not allowing users to choose pictures from the photo album. It makes the app more in the moment and more pure.”
The app itself is still in the development process and is actually currently in the tail-end of a Kickstarter program to get the additional funding to expand the app for the Apple Watch and Android. Ball said that whether or not the Kickstarter is funded, the app will continue forward. Right now the application is only expected to be available for iPhone devices.
All in all, including GPS ins a social media app really isn’t anything that new or exciting. There have been dozens of apps that allow geotagging of some sort or ‘checking in’ to locations. Facebook tried it a few years ago, but it was rather unsuccessful. But the thing that really caught my attention about Pinit wasn’t adding location to photos. It was the fact that users could choose to be notified when friends or families pin a photo or status nearby, allowing and even encouraging more surprise meetings and face-to-face contact than other social media apps. The app also has a range of privacy features to ensure that your location is only shared with those you trust.
Pinit is currently undergoing the last phase of development prior to beta launch and anyone interested in the app can sign up for a newsletter to be notified when the app beta is available and for other updates. Ball said that the Pinit is expected to be launched sometime at the end of April or the beginning of May, so it should be very soon. I’ll update the article when the beta launches.
For additional information on how the app works, check out Pinit’s website.
