Show HN: Nod – Anonymous proximity messenger

by fo0x • 11 years ago

53 51 11 years ago

fo0x15• 11 years ago

The app started as a simple prototype in our office of small startup studio. We discovered super fun nature of anonymous ephemeral messaging, so decided to give it a try.

We got about 10K organic installs in 1 week. So people sure miss something in anonymous messaging field. Actually we aim to acquire as more as possible Secret`s ex-users - we believe that there are at least 10M of people looking for a new tool to enjoy anonymous conversations with others in close proximity.

pavel_lishin2• 11 years ago

No Android version?

fo0x15• 11 years ago

we are going to test iOS first and then decide

51Cards• 11 years ago

Second the Android request.

jakejake• 11 years ago

Just curious where you got the 10 million number?

fo0x15• 11 years ago

Press said Secret had 10-15 millions of active users

lming2• 11 years ago

After installation I swipe down and the app reboots my iPhone 6+ :)

It's impressive that you can get 10K organic installs in 1 week! Are there any trick/hack that other app makers can learn from it?

fo0x15• 11 years ago

Well, if u're not sarcastic here we sure will. Follow nod on Twitter - @yougotthenod

markhall• 11 years ago

How do you prevent the same downfall that Secret faced? It seems that part of it resulted from negativity, bullying, etc. That said, I like the design and concept though.

fo0x15• 11 years ago

As we don't have pictures sharing (at lest for now) there sure will be less nudity and offensive content overall

MichaelSelsky• 11 years ago

How are you passing messages between people?

fo0x15• 11 years ago

We use APNS

sneak• 11 years ago

What do you do with the users' location history on the server side? (Obviously you see it to be able to know who to send push notifications to...)

Is it stored? Logged inadvertently? Intentionally archived? Intentionally purged?

protomyth• 11 years ago

The perfect messenger app to be featured in a future horror movie or thriller.

flistwo• 11 years ago

awesome!

mobiuscog• 11 years ago

  - We are not responsible for the information you can receive or send via Nod App. Our users are free to share any kind of messages. We ask you to stay polite and don’t be offensive or do harm to anybody.

Really ? Anonymous texting with no limits on message content and you (a) expect people to stay polite, and (b) want to denounce all responsibility ?

Sure (b) is achievable (possibly) legally by having a huge disclaimer on usage of the app, but I think it's being somewhat disingenuous to think this won't be abused.

Edit: Will there at least be the ability for a user to block / report other messages ? I assume as you have the device ID this could be achieved technically.

fo0x15• 11 years ago

We understand all the challenges, it's up to users to bully or not. But still this can be a lot of fun.

There already is opportunity to "mute" or "report" a message.

anseljh2• 11 years ago

Please learn from Secret. There are some things you should choose not to build. This is one.

comrh2• 11 years ago

Seems kind of disingenuous to make an app that has similar functionality to a few others, including Secret which in some countries was legally barred due to bullying problems, and then just say it is "up to the users to not bully".

You have to take some responsibility for the things you put out in the world.

anc84• 11 years ago

How do you ensure the users are anonymous? Tor, Gnunet or some similar network? Or did you make your own mixing network?

fo0x15• 11 years ago

there are no authorisation, phone number verification or fb login - only user's device ID

aw3c2• 11 years ago

That does not sound anonymous at all, if you know the device ID, you are totally trackable. Maybe change your pitch to "pseudonymous"? Anonymity is important and this is not actual anonymity.

omginternets• 11 years ago

Christ, the pedantry in the comments section...

No this is not anonymous in the cryptographic sense. It's anonymous insofar a you don't advertise your identity. "Anonymous" is the rule of the game, not a comment on network security features.

fo0x15• 11 years ago

thanks

dewey2• 11 years ago

There's a similar app [0] that's so incredibly popular at universities here in Germany right now that even mainstream media wrote about it already. I'm actually surprised how good the moderation works there, messages that gather more than 5 downvotes are immediately removed so the self-moderation works quite well. How are you dealing with that (I don't see any up/downvote/report buttons)?

[0] https://jodel-app.com/

tricolon• 11 years ago

Jodel looks like a clone of Yik Yak.

dewey2• 11 years ago

Indeed, they were founded at the same time though and it was previously known as TellM.

fo0x15• 11 years ago

If you swipe left on the message in the list you get "mute" option. Then you can mute it not to get notifications on the updates or report the message. For now when reported message is reviewed by our team.

LukeB_UK• 11 years ago

This is the missing piece of digital communication. Let's change the rules for texting!

What makes it the missing piece of digital communication?

thoughtpalette• 11 years ago

The background animation is beautiful though I'm not a fan of scroll hijacking.

bshimmin• 11 years ago

I didn't even realise you were supposed to scroll until I eventually saw the tiny vertically-aligned text saying "Scroll down to see more" - when will they learn?

EvilPopsicleDog• 11 years ago

So exactly like Yik Yak?

fo0x15• 11 years ago

Yik Yak is more a board, Nod is messenger with all the instant pushes and everything else.

burger_moon• 11 years ago

Cool app.

It might just be me but I found the landing page a little aggravating in that the bottom of the phone was cut off and I couldn't scroll down to put it entirely in view. I'm probably just a weird edge case though. The color scheme looks great.

thescriptkiddie• 11 years ago

So, like Salut except less anonymous because it sends your physical location to a central server?

dang• 11 years ago

Please don't post comments that are dismissive of new work in this way. It's fine to ask a genuine question, but not to make a dismissive swipe in the form of a question.

stasmatv• 11 years ago

Let's all use it, very interesting idea!

w0und• 11 years ago

sounds fun obviously great potential for misuse and in the world today almost guaranteed but either way sounds fun I would use it... for android

freewizard2• 11 years ago

Cool UI/UX.

However, I'm wondering, instead of connecting to a central server, is there apps do pure peer to peer sharing, possibly by relaying thru bluetooth when internet is down?

comrh2• 11 years ago

I believe FireChat[1] is right up your alley. Was covered a lot during the Hong Kong protests.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FireChat

freewizard2• 11 years ago

I gave up FireChat when it has a sign up process and asks for email.

Show HN: Nod – Anonymous proximity messenger

Related Stories