Google has recently released a new app called "Who's Down," which allows friends to meet up and plan their next hangout.
"Who's Down," an invite-only app, allows users who are interested in similar activities to quickly group and hang out, as well as see who among their friends will be available for some activities. The app is targeted toward teenagers and college students, according to Fast Company.
According to Venture Capital Post, "Who's Down" currently requires an invitation code and is only for college students. In order to sign up, the app requires an institution's name and the users don't need to provide an academic e-mail address on an .edu domain. Although there are no restrictions in joining the app, the app's targeting is very clear. Although Google has not given much focus on going after college students and teenagers, it has recently engaged in social platforms with some small social efforts.
With "Who's Down," users can view if their friends are down to do something instead of the traditional group messaging technique. The users can choose a certain activity they feel like doing and see who else wants to do it with them.
According to Tech Times, users who want to hang out can slide the app and turn up the toggle to the on position, signifying that they are down to engage in particular activities with whatever keyword they may choose. The app also provides which activities appear to be popular or are intelligently guessed selections.
There are pre-defined keywords that the user can choose from on the app, but the user can also create their own custom keywords. Once the user sets their status, the app will allow them to scan what their friends are down for. If the user finds a match, the user can begin a chat to plan out for a meeting to hang out. The interaction will disappear in a 24-hour time frame.
"Who's Down" seems to be an interesting new app with Google's classic well-designed interface, but there are other older existing apps with goals similar to it. An example of this is Apple's Find My Friend app, "Shortnotice," which was released a year ago, as well as Foursquare's "Swarm."
"Who's Down" is available for download in both iOS and Android.
