Mobile photography is so ubiquitous these days, there’s almost no way around it. From the casual snapper to the advanced amateur, almost everyone who possesses a smartphone is also using it to take pictures. That includes professional photographers as well as kids, who are given their own smartphones in increasing numbers. So it’s appropriate that there are two new photo sharing apps aimed at these two groups of mobile photographers.
Kuddle is a photo sharing app for kids of all ages, intended to create a safe environment where kids can share their photos without the risk of being bullied. In a sense, Kuddle is a bit of an Instagram for kids, with the difference that it allows the youngsters to add drawings and captions to their pictures, and its mission to discourage bullying and teach kids about netiquette.
To that end, the app comes with several safety features including parental supervision and content moderators. Kids need to answer educational questions relating to online behavior before they can upload a photo, “likes” are anonymous, and friends cannot be “unfriended” to prevent exclusion. Also, parents are notified via email when their kids upload content, so they can check if it’s appropriate.
In addition to that, Kuddle’s content moderators monitor what is being shared and make sure all content is appropriate for kids. A default friend called “Kodi Kuddle” that is added to all new accounts also helps “teach responsibility and the consequences of sharing content,” according to Kuddle’s developers. The App is available for free on iTunes and Google Play Store.
Targeting professionals as well as advanced amateurs and enthusiasts is Looksee, a sharing app that comes with a unique concept in order to bring photographers together. Just like Kuddle, Looksee also emphasizes anonymity, but with a different goal. Since it focuses on photographic content, all photos are published anonymously.
Users can browse photos taken around their current location, but in order to find out who’s behind a particular photograph, its creator must like the work of a person who liked their work. Only then the two are revealed to each other and can start to interact. The motivation behind this is not only to encourage the sharing of quality work, but also to force users to publish, because if they don’t, they can’t get in touch with any of the other users.
When two Looksee users from the same area mutually like their work, they can get in touch – both in the online world as well as in the real world. Due to the anonymity approach, Looksee’s user base is still rather small. Looksee can be downloaded for free on iTunes.
