
Show HN: Cloak – Incognito mode for real life - cmb320
http://usecloak.com
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blueskin_
I find the page rather content-free, which makes it seem useless.

I'm used to the scrolling pages and general dearth of useful information such
as specs/FAQs/technical details by now (which I still find infuriating, but it
seems this is becoming depressingly common thanks to the metro-inspired dogma
that giving users choice and information is bad), but this has absolutely
nothing at all other than a screencap. Try including some information about
how it works for those of us who don't use apple products.

From the screencap, I can assume it shows other people's location in realtime
(or close to it), but there is no information about how the app works or where
its data comes from (facebook etc checkins? ibeacon? bluetooth/802.11x
listening? voluntary data submission from other users of the app?), pricing,
usage details, or even a basic FAQ.

I kept clicking all over the place expecting some hidden link, but even
examining the page source has revealed nothing.

Ironically, I opened the thread because I was interested from the title, but
having people need to install an app to see what is actually does isn't a
great model even if it does push your market stats up and inflate the "x
people installed this app" counter.

I realise this probably comes across as mean, and I apologise for that (I'm
sure my tone is influenced by it being monday, and not a great one at that),
but it isn't really showing people if only a subset of those interested can
see how it works. Even a comment with an overview of what it is and how it
works would go a long way. I have seen metro-ish product sites done somewhat
well (perhaps ironically, one of the best was apple's one for the dustbin,
although that still suffered from a lack of specs), but people have to feel
like they aren't looking at what might as well be a placeholder if it wasn't
for the javascript and store link.

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cmb320
:(

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blueskin_
No judgement on the product itself; I actually find the concept interesting,
but I feel that linking directly to the itunes page itself would be more
effective.

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nollidge
(To be fair, you did start your comment pretty harshly: I doubt this is the
_worst_ product site you've ever seen.)

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blueskin_
I can't think of a specific one that comes to mind, but I guess anything fresh
in memory will be more likely to tend towards an absolute. As it is, I've
revised my comment a few times to be more fair, and have now changed that
line.

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madaxe_again
So this is an app that lets me put my phone on a green table? Site is
absolutely useless.

Sure the product is great but I have no idea what it does.

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larubbio
From the name I thought this was Cloak the VPN tool.

[https://www.getcloak.com/](https://www.getcloak.com/)

I'm surprise the app store allows two apps to be named so similarly.

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SyneRyder
+1, I also immediately thought of Cloak VPN, especially with the description
as "Incognito Mode".

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malloreon
The submission title immediately reminded me of the gevulot from Hannu
Rajaniemi's "The Quantum Thief."

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jenno
How does it know who you'd want to avoid? How do you get their info and
location?

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cmb320
It scrapes Instagram and foursquare, giving you a map view of all the people.
Then you can set special alerts.

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kissickas
Seriously, please put at least these two sentences on your website.

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hamburglar
And seriously, make it so I can see more than just your enormous tagline on
mobile. I have a 1080p screen; that oughta be plenty. But literally everything
I know about this app was learned from reading derisive comments in this
thread.

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cheez
While I understand the draw towards this, I can't help but think that it is
emblematic of our growing inability to deal with interpersonal conflict in a
constructive way.

Are there _that_ many people in your life that you MUST avoid in order to keep
yourself sane? I would wager this says a lot about you.

Everyone has that crazy ex that they would stay away from. I do. But it's
really not that hard to avoid her. See her coming? Turn around and walk away.
She calls you over? Say no, straight up.

Or maybe the authors posted this as a sort of social commentary.

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jpdlla
Not to be confused with Cloak VPN
[https://www.getcloak.com/](https://www.getcloak.com/)

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bite
Looks cool. I can't help but think this will definitely shed some light on the
risks of sharing so much personal information online, knowing all this is
scraped from social media accounts - a user would surely think twice before
tweeting their location in the future.

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davepeck
It's always great to see a new app launch and I always want to be supportive!

But: I'm the founder of GetCloak.com, the company that makes Cloak. We've been
around for several years and obviously are going to have to defend our name.
No fun.

I've sent you an email about this. Thanks.

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lux
Couldn't this help you connect with those people just as easily as hiding from
them? Either way, cool idea.

Since Foursquare isn't so big here, additional networks would be useful to
have as well.

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cmb320
Yep

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nollidge
1) I doubt most people know what "Incognito Mode" is.

2) Why does the background & image move around with the mouse? It doesn't have
anything to do with the app.

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liam_ja
_" 2) Why does the background & image move around with the mouse? It doesn't
have anything to do with the app."_

That's what got me. To me it implies that when someone is within proximity of
the phone, it will vibrate/notify the user; other than that, I have no idea.

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EC1
Pointless app unless your circle of friends is absolutely glued to their
phones. Only utilizes foursquare and instagram too.

Great UI though, I really like it.

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rayhano
So cool!

What has been the feedback so far? And what have you planned for a next
iteration (if any)?

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cmb320
Just launched!

