
Ask HN: What do you think about this Android app? - lpellegr
I am the developer of the Medical ID app on Android:<p>https:&#x2F;&#x2F;play.google.com&#x2F;store&#x2F;apps&#x2F;details?id=app.medicalid.free<p>What do you think about this app? I am looking for honest feedbacks and idea to improve it.<p>Any comment is welcome ;)
======
n-gauge
Great idea! The only thing I could think of adding, is when you last took your
drugs, you could have some sort of button you press on the lock screen and a
tick list.

Going further you could have a progress bar next to each drug which slowly
goes down depending on when you should take it next .

~~~
lpellegr
Thank you n-gauge. Your idea is really interesting. I will try to consider it
for next versions.

------
brudgers
The app seems to require some permissions that seem, at least to me, a bit
orthogonal to the primary function and perhaps are at odds with the user's
intent.

If it meets the guidelines, this might make a good 'Show HN'. Though the
engagement with mobile apps tends to be lower. 'Show HN' guidelines:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html)

~~~
lpellegr
If I understand, you suggest a better onboarding which explains what is the
purpose of the app and why and how permissions are used?

Thank you for the hint about "Show HN", I was not aware of it. I will probably
give a try.

~~~
brudgers
I was wondering why the app needs access to my all contacts and usb storage
and requires full network access.

~~~
lpellegr
Read contacts permission is for enabling emergency contacts auto completion.
Usb storage is for saving image photos. Network access is for Crash reports
and fetching first aids techniques Web page content.

------
on_and_off
Android already natively has a similar feature (at least in the last versions,
not sure about kitkat and lower). So how does this app improve on that ?

~~~
lpellegr
What I have seen until now on Android is limited to a list of contacts to call
in case of emergency. Furthermore, this last is not always trivial to access.

The app I have developed aims to go further. First, its availability on the
lock screen is clear. You don't have to look for a tiny icon on top left/right
side. Besides, it allows to create multiple profiles, which is useful if you
have for instance young children.

For each profile, you can specify, emergency contacts but also the blood type
of the person, its/her height, weight, allergies, medical conditions and any
other information you may consider vital.

In addition, the app provides some utilities that allow to display your
location (address, GPS coordinates, altitude), find nearby hospitals, send an
SMS alert (e.g. if you are not able to speak in case of emergency).

