

Show HN: Nod – Anonymous proximity messenger - fo0x
http://yougotthenod.com

======
fo0x
The app started as a simple prototype in our office of small startup studio.
We discovered super fun nature of anonymous ephemeral messaging, so decided to
give it a try.

We got about 10K organic installs in 1 week. So people sure miss something in
anonymous messaging field. Actually we aim to acquire as more as possible
Secret`s ex-users - we believe that there are at least 10M of people looking
for a new tool to enjoy anonymous conversations with others in close
proximity.

~~~
pavel_lishin
No Android version?

~~~
fo0x
we are going to test iOS first and then decide

~~~
Cyberdelic
Last time I checked, iOS has about 14% market share, while Android has 79%...
Especially for something meant to be by proximity only, you'd want the highest
chance of it being on the phones of people nearby... heh. Instead, this gets
released on iOS only. Good luck with that.

~~~
pavel_lishin
But aren't iOS users most likely to spend money? Thus making them the perfect
users to target if you're eventually going to show ads, or rent their
information, or monetize in any way?

~~~
Cyberdelic
Yep. iOS users tend to spend more, in general. Think of this in the context of
the specific application, though.

This is a proximity-based messaging. Without people nearby with the app, you
have no one to talk to. At that point, ads or renting of information are
meaningless... because it won't be used.

For a proximity-based application like this, purposely excluding the majority
of smartphone users seems like it will be a limiting factor in its adoption.

But, who knows, maybe this is all intentional. I'll optimistically assume they
are beta testing with iOS users until the kinks at worked out and can release
to Android.

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dewey
There's a similar app [0] that's so incredibly popular at universities here in
Germany right now that even mainstream media wrote about it already. I'm
actually surprised how good the moderation works there, messages that gather
more than 5 downvotes are immediately removed so the self-moderation works
quite well. How are you dealing with that (I don't see any up/downvote/report
buttons)?

[0] [https://jodel-app.com/](https://jodel-app.com/)

~~~
tricolon
Jodel looks like a clone of Yik Yak.

~~~
dewey
Indeed, they were founded at the same time though and it was previously known
as TellM.

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LukeB_UK
> _This is the missing piece of digital communication. Let 's change the rules
> for texting!_

What makes it the missing piece of digital communication?

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burger_moon
Cool app.

It might just be me but I found the landing page a little aggravating in that
the bottom of the phone was cut off and I couldn't scroll down to put it
entirely in view. I'm probably just a weird edge case though. The color scheme
looks great.

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protomyth
The perfect messenger app to be featured in a future horror movie or thriller.

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thoughtpalette
The background animation is beautiful though I'm not a fan of scroll
hijacking.

~~~
bshimmin
I didn't even realise you were supposed to scroll until I eventually saw the
tiny vertically-aligned text saying "Scroll down to see more" \- when will
they learn?

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markhall
How do you prevent the same downfall that Secret faced? It seems that part of
it resulted from negativity, bullying, etc. That said, I like the design and
concept though.

~~~
fo0x
As we don't have pictures sharing (at lest for now) there sure will be less
nudity and offensive content overall

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mobiuscog

      - We are not responsible for the information you can receive or send via Nod App. Our users are free to share any kind of messages. We ask you to stay polite and don’t be offensive or do harm to anybody.
    

Really ? Anonymous texting with no limits on message content and you (a)
expect people to stay polite, and (b) want to denounce all responsibility ?

Sure (b) is achievable (possibly) legally by having a huge disclaimer on usage
of the app, but I think it's being somewhat disingenuous to think this won't
be abused.

Edit: Will there at least be the ability for a user to block / report other
messages ? I assume as you have the device ID this could be achieved
technically.

~~~
fo0x
We understand all the challenges, it's up to users to bully or not. But still
this can be a lot of fun.

There already is opportunity to "mute" or "report" a message.

~~~
anseljh
Please learn from Secret. There are some things you should choose not to
build. This is one.

~~~
fo0x
Secret was an awesome app, it has not only inappropriate content but a lot of
cool jokes, stories, news etc. It was closed not because people haven't used
it but because it went not the way founders wanted. We don't have over
expectations in the field.

~~~
anseljh
My point is that the Secret founders, who thought long and hard about this,
concluded that the social cost (harassment, etc.) outweighed the benefits
("cool jokes", etc.). I am imploring you to learn that lesson instead of
repeating the same mistakes--and harming others.

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anc84
How do you ensure the users are anonymous? Tor, Gnunet or some similar
network? Or did you make your own mixing network?

~~~
fo0x
there are no authorisation, phone number verification or fb login - only
user's device ID

~~~
aw3c2
That does not sound anonymous at all, if you know the device ID, you are
totally trackable. Maybe change your pitch to "pseudonymous"? Anonymity is
important and this is not actual anonymity.

~~~
fo0x
thanks. we'll consider that. just for information apps with phone verification
use "anonymous" in description too. we are way more anonymous than secret and
many other out there.

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freewizard
Cool UI/UX.

However, I'm wondering, instead of connecting to a central server, is there
apps do pure peer to peer sharing, possibly by relaying thru bluetooth when
internet is down?

~~~
comrh
I believe FireChat[1] is right up your alley. Was covered a lot during the
Hong Kong protests.

1:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FireChat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FireChat)

~~~
freewizard
I gave up FireChat when it has a sign up process and asks for email.

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EvilPopsicleDog
So exactly like Yik Yak?

~~~
fo0x
Yik Yak is more a board, Nod is messenger with all the instant pushes and
everything else.

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w0und
sounds fun obviously great potential for misuse and in the world today almost
guaranteed but either way sounds fun I would use it... for android

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MichaelSelsky
How are you passing messages between people?

~~~
fo0x
We use APNS

~~~
sneak
What do you do with the users' location history on the server side? (Obviously
you see it to be able to know who to send push notifications to...)

Is it stored? Logged inadvertently? Intentionally archived? Intentionally
purged?

~~~
fo0x
We don’t store users location history. User's device only sends its
geolocation and we use it simultaneously under messaging. All geolocations are
erased by newer ones.

~~~
nschomsky
How do you access the users location? Wifi? The app doesn't ask for this
permission and there's no such permission in the settings tab.

~~~
fo0x
You probably haven't finished tutorial mode. After the tutorial Nod will ask
to turn on geolocation access.

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stasmatv
Let's all use it, very interesting idea!

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thescriptkiddie
So, like Salut except less anonymous because it sends your physical location
to a central server?

~~~
dang
Please don't post comments that are dismissive of new work in this way. It's
fine to ask a genuine question, but not to make a dismissive swipe in the form
of a question.

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omginternets
Christ, the pedantry in the comments section...

No this is not anonymous in the cryptographic sense. It's anonymous insofar a
you don't advertise your identity. "Anonymous" is the rule of the game, not a
comment on network security features.

~~~
fo0x
thanks

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flistwo
awesome!

