MYNORTHWEST NEWS

GeekWire app of the week: Where You @

Apr 29, 2013, 2:37 PM | Updated: 4:07 pm

This week's app of the week is a location auto text response tool. (Image courtesy whereu-at.com)

(Image courtesy whereu-at.com)

Parents might like this week’s app of the week a little more than their kids.

The Where You @ app, developed by Bainbridge company OTTER (One Touch Text Response), can provide your location automatically to those who text you with interest.

“The way Where You @ works is you install the app on the phone and then another person, no matter what type of phone they’re using, can text you two characters “@?” and your phone, where the app is installed, responds with your location,” says GeekWire host Todd Bishop.

The program won’t send your location to just anyone. It will only respond to @? queries from people that are already in your contacts.

Bishop says this is a great tool for teens and parents.
“A parent could install this on a teen’s phone and then that parent, from their own phone, would text @? and get a link back with the actual location of the teen.”

The app doesn’t require the phone user to text back their location, it’s done automatically. This is an expansion of OTTER’s previous efforts to eliminate dangerous texting while driving, Bishop explains.

OTTER also notes it’s a great way to find your phone if you’ve lost it. With the text @?, the phone will respond with a map to its location.

Where You @ is available for free for Android devices.

GeekWire can be heard on KIRO Radio Saturdays at 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Available anytime ON DEMAND at KIRORadio.com.

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GeekWire app of the week: Where You @