Bump, the app that lets people interact and share information with each other by bumping their phones together, has been acquired by Google.
Back in May last year, we reported that Bump users had shared 600 million photos with each other, while announcing that users could also now bump photos to their computer too. A couple of months later, Bump launched a new iOS app called Flock (not to be confused with the social web browser), for sharing photos with friends collaboratively in albums. Android followed later that year.
This acquisition makes a lot of sense in many ways, as it means Bump’s technology could be used to transfer photos or documents to and from Google’s array of services. It’s worth adding here that Bump doesn’t use NFC, merely “whatever Internet connection is available on your device”, be that WiFi or cellular. The mobile app uses the phone’s sensors to “feel” the bump, thus actioning the actual transfer.
Though Bump CEO David Lieb says things will remain the same at Bump and Flock for now, he does stress that we should “stay tuned for future updates”, so its future is far from certain.
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The full announcement on the Bump blog is as follows:
“We’re excited to announce that the Bump team is joining Google!
Our mission at Bump has always been to build the simplest tools for sharing the information you care about with other people and devices. We strive to create experiences that feel like magic, enabled behind the scene with innovations in math, data processing, and algorithms. So we couldn’t be more thrilled to join Google, a company that shares our belief that the application of computing to difficult problems can fundamentally change the way that we interact with one another and the world.
Bump and Flock will continue to work as they always have for now; stay tuned for future updates.
We’d like to extend a special thank you to all of you who have used our products so far. It continues to be a pleasure to serve you, and your feedback and evangelism inspire us every day.
David Lieb
CEO and cofounder
BumpWe also want to thank our investors, advisors, and supporters — Marc Andreessen and all of a16z; Greg McAdoo, Tim Lee and all of Sequoia; Paul Graham, Jessica Livingston, and everyone at Y Combinator; Ron Conway and SV Angel; Ram Shriram of Sherpalo; Aydin Senkut of Felicis — and our friends and family who have encouraged us to dream big and push the world forward.”
Feature Image Credit – KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images)
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