So what’s going on in your neighbourhood? What’s the closest takeout place you can rely on? And where can you get music lessons nearby?
To answer questions like these you might have to deep dive into a Google search. Heck, you might even have to go to page two or three!
But since your neighbours are the best source of such hyperlocal information, Google has come up with an app that will help you directly source answers from them. ‘Neighbourly’, helps connect with people in your neighbourhood to share specific tips, shortcuts and other generic information about your locality/neighbourhood.
The app needs to access to your location to set up a locality. Users also get an option to change their location.
It’s also easy on storage at just 7 MB and also works offline. If you’re disconnected, all your queries and responses will be sent/received once you reconnect. Questions come in the form of stacks which you can swipe left or right.
Neighbourly has a very simple interface where it lets users post questions and people nearby who have subscribed to the app can post the answers (if they wish to). Questions are posted in a stack of cards where you can swipe to answer or just pass to the next query.
Before the first question is revealed to you, there are certain ‘neighbourly promises’ which a user has to make. There are terms like respecting the other users, asking neighbourly questions, and reporting inappropriate posts.
Users get points to answer questions and then gain access to an exclusive list of members.
The responses aren’t instantaneous and takes about 10-20 minutes to receive responses, depending on the neighbourhood as well.
There is an option where users can follow a specific question by tapping the ‘star’ icon in the app. Users will then receive relevant updates when people share new answers.
Apart from text messages and questions, users can also post voice messages or queries in the app.
Currently, the app is only available on Android (4.3 and above) to the residents of Mumbai and supports nine languages – Marathi, Hindi, English, Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Bengali.
The app is available on Google Playstore to download, but has been put as an “unreleased” app. It keeps personal details like your phone number, full name and other contact information private.
A user’s profile only contains a small picture and the first name. This is the only thing others on the app and in the community will be able to see. In case others want to share an answer with you, they can do so with a direct message.
You also have an option to delete all your neighbourly data that signs you out and erases you from the platform.
This isn’t the first time Google has tried its hand in hyperlocal services in India. Earlier in April 2017, it had launched an app named Aero which primarily catered to services like home maintenance, beauty and food delivery services. It is also quite similar to Nextdoor, which is a localised social network service in the US.
According to the company, it is looking to expand the app to other sections of the country “that are excited to use Neighbourly.”
Still, people who are curious enough to know what the app looks like can go to the Playstore and download it.
— with inputs from Vinu Joseph
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