Complementing the rising popularity of smart phones, PinU has been created specifically for students to allow them to see when friends are close by. With the ‘Stop Looking at Your Phones’ YouTube British phenomenon, the UK is undoubtedly a nation of smartphone addicts. Introducing the new student-specific app to reduce some of the screen staring time.
Many students come up against the same problem when trying to find out what everyone’s doing and where they are on nights out. PinU steps in to solve this problem by showing when friends are nearby, through the installation of a smart phone app. Students in particular, form the group most commonly experiencing this problem, and as such the app has been developed to be specifically unique to this demographic. In order to sign up for PinU requires the University email address to ensure that only students use it.
With an inbuilt message feature, PinU has been created as a social app. When a notification tells users that a friend is nearby, they can then create SMS-style messages with that person to arrange plans.
Ultimately PinU's mission is to create shared experiences all over the world for students from every corner of the globe signing in and allowing their friends to find their general locale. As such, it’s a protective device.
PinU will be available exclusively in the UK from mid February on the Google play store at University College London, with the majority of other UK universities to be added throughout the year. Plans to expand internationally come towards the end of the year, after its pioneering launch here in the UK. An Apple version will be available through the iOS store later this year.
Whether it’s because the tunes are too pumping, the signal’s bad or too many tequilas have been consumed, there are times when everyone neglects to look at their phone. PinU saves people from the sometimes anxiety inducing feeling of updating area locale by doing it for them.
Like any app, PinU can be paused should students require privacy. Ideal in assisting students on nights out on the town or post lecture meet ups. Because it’s exclusive to students, and the locale is only available to friends, it’s a secure and fun way to stay tuned to who’s in the area!
Helping people to stay connected and in tune with their friends, Co-founder PinU Haris Adu said, “When I was at Uni, trying to find out if my friends were on campus at the same time as me was a hassle, texting multiple people back and forth, calling people was all just too much work and too stressful. Which gave me the idea to create an app which could let me know when my friends were in the same area as me.”
For more information about PinU or to sign up for an invite, please visit http://www.pinu.co/