Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Have all your conversations in public with new app Public

Lulu Chang
By

private messaging app screen shot 2016 06 18 at 4 28 12 pm
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Looking to eavesdrop on conversations? Say goodbye to privacy and hello to Public, an app that wants to you to chat, you guessed it, in public. The brainchild of Boxee founder Avener Ronen, Public lets you “discover and follow conversation from the most fascinating people in entertainment, politics, sports, and tech.” So if you’re constantly looking for opportunities to be a fly on the wall, this is it.

The public chatting platform lets you peek into conversations as soon as you open the app, and if you want to partake in the discussion, you’re invited to participate via the comment section in the side bar. And if you think you have something more substantive to contribute, you can request to be part of the chat group itself, and really get in on the action.

Recommended Videos

Whether you’re interested in sports or sake, you can probably find a thread that suits your conversational needs. But be warned, everyone else can see what you’re saying too … though there’s no guarantee that all conversations will be interesting.

Related

But as Ronen wrote in a Medium blog post announcing the app’s launch, “Conversation is a core part of the human experience,” and moreover, “Sharing a good conversation is something that’s connected us since before the advent of written language.” Whereas most of our conversations today are relegated to various messaging platforms, Public wants to open up the channels of communication to the world.

So what’s the goal of Ronen’s latest adventure? “We want to build Public as a platform for people to … share their great conversations,” he wrote. “We expect these chats to be inspiring, emotional, controversial, humorous, deep, mundane, informative, and entertaining. They will hopefully represent the richness of the human experience.”

Ultimately, the goal is for Public to cement its reputation as the “platform of choice for both creators and viewers” when it comes to conversation. So whether you’re looking to tap into conversations on Black Art & Literature, Queer Representation in Pop Culture, or you know, your summer plans, jump into Public and see what’s happening in the public sphere.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lulu Chang
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Apple seems to have embarked on new purge of neglected apps
An Apple iPhone 13 Pro being held in a person's hand.

Apple appears to have embarked on a new round of purging apps from its App Store, specifically those that have been left untouched by developers for a long period of time

In a message sent to affected developers, Apple said: “This app has not been updated in a significant amount of time and is scheduled to be removed from sale in 30 days. No action is required for the app to remain available to users who have already downloaded the app.”

Read more
Peak Design’s new universal phone case could meet all your mounting needs
peak designs new mobile accessories iphone android design s everyday loop case

Regardless of whether you're grabbing a new iPhone 13 or sticking to a Galaxy S21, fiddling with bulky or unreliable mounts before a long drive could be a thing of the past. Mobile by Peak Design is a continuation of its efforts to simplify phone accessories so that you only need one case and a few accessories for both protection and mounting.  The goal is to offer the convenience of just one or two accessories, without a loss to practicality or style.

How the new case system works is that there are magnets built straight into Peak Design's cases to ensure that your phone stays exactly where you put it. Whether that's on a bike, in your car, or even just at home on your desk. Because the magnets are universal on Mobile's Ecosystem, your phone can work with the entire Mobile line. It's also compatible with Apple's other MagSafe accessories you may already have as well as any non-MagSafe wireless chargers. How useful MagSafe is as a whole is likely a question that's best answered by your own usage.

Read more
5 new iOS 15 features in the Public Beta that make the biggest impact
iOS 15 preview webpage on an iPhone 11.

The Public Beta version of Apple’s iOS 15 is now available, which means it’s ready for anyone to download and try out on a spare iPhone. What’s it like when you do? I’ve installed iOS 15 on an iPhone 11 to find out by trying the new features already inside.

Most of the new features introduced during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2021 are available, with five making the biggest impact on me so far. Here’s a closer look at how they perform.
Safari’s new look
Safari has really changed, and upon opening it for the first time, I was very confused as to where to find anything. The search bar, traditionally at the top of all browser screens, is now at the bottom of the screen in a floating panel. It’s less intrusive and provides a lot more screen for webpages, but it’s very easy to miss the first time you open the app.

Read more