Google to shut down Bump and Flock apps, delete all data

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Just three months after being acquired by Google, Bump Technologies announced on Tuesday that it will be shuttering its Bump and Flock apps, both of which will be removed from the iOS App Store and cease to function on Jan. 31.

Bump


According to Bump's blog, the developer is closing down both Bump and group photo album aggregator Flock to refocus efforts on as-yet-unannounced Google projects.

"Back in September, we announced that the Bump team was joining Google to continue our work of helping people share and interact with one another using mobile devices," CEO and cofounder David Lieb wrote in the post. "We are now deeply focused on our new projects within Google, and we've decided to discontinue Bump and Flock."

Both apps will be available on the iOS App Store and Google Play until Jan. 31, at which point the titles will be removed and all user data deleted. Existing users have 30 days to download stored data, which can be accomplished by requesting an export link in-app.

One of the first standout iOS apps, Bump allows users to share various types of data, such as contact information, photos and video, by simply "bumping" two devices together. A subsequent update expanded Bump's functionality to include phone-to-PC transfers.

The app's ease of use spurred development of first-party solutions like Apple's AirDrop and various Android NFC systems. For example, in an update for the Apple TV in September, Apple included a "touch to configure" option. The feature leverages Bluetooth 4.0 to let users perform the initial setup of a third-generation Apple TV by tapping it with a supported iOS 7 device.

Local file transfer has become an increasingly attractive feature for manufacturers to include in mobile device operating systems, especially given current expensive cellular data plan pricing.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 57
    Removed Bump exactly same day google took over them!

    As always, anything google gets their dirty hands on, me delete them!
  • Reply 2 of 57
    tundraboytundraboy Posts: 1,884member
    "Back in September, we announced that the Bump team was joining Google to continue their work of getting people to expose all their personal information to Google" CEO and cofounder David Lieb wrote in the post.

    Fixed it.
  • Reply 3 of 57

    And nothing of value was lost.

  • Reply 4 of 57
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member

    If I remember correctly, Bump was the one billionth App store download and some kid won a lot of iTunes vouchers.

  • Reply 5 of 57
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Some analyst should make a chart of apps deleted from smartphones the moment Google buys those small companies.
  • Reply 6 of 57

    I wonder if there's some behind-the-scenes animosity.

     

    The announcement post: Bump and flock will continue to work as they have.

    The very next post: Okay, we're shutting down and deleting everything.

     

    Seems like 5 years of work being thrown away.

  • Reply 7 of 57
    lilgto64lilgto64 Posts: 1,147member
    Never heard of either of them.

    I used to work for a guy whose business plan was to become a big enough local threat to the major national corporation to convince them to offer him a big fat check to shut down. Sadly didn't work out that way. Can't say that it was a bad model - a former business partner of his in a different state did succeed in that plan but only about a decade after the guy I worked for had sold out his interest in that business and moved back "home" at the insistence of his wife, who later divorced him.
  • Reply 8 of 57
    Another one in a series of trashy, pointless acquisitions by a clueless company.
  • Reply 9 of 57
    negafoxnegafox Posts: 480member
    I never heard of these apps until this article pointed them out. I assume nothing of value was lost.
    disturbia wrote: »
    As always, anything google gets their dirty hands on, me delete them!

    But... but...see those ads all over AI? Google.
  • Reply 10 of 57
    Finally, Android-exclusive apps!
  • Reply 11 of 57
    hill60 wrote: »
    If I remember correctly, Bump was the one billionth App store download and some kid won a lot of iTunes vouchers.
    They were indeed the 1 Billionth app downloaded. He also got a bunch of other Apple swag as well.
  • Reply 12 of 57
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

    Google to… …delete all data


     

    Oh, AI. Your sense of humor never ceases to amaze. <img class=" src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />

  • Reply 13 of 57
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,945member
    Used bump exactly once. It sucked. Just deleted it. Never heard of the other one. Now the only thing tethering me to Google is the fact that I have to use it to log into my icloud/iTunes account. LAME.
  • Reply 14 of 57
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member

    Don't worry, little Googlers, they'll reappear soon as Bum Fock or something like that.

  • Reply 15 of 57
    I hate google and their misbegotten schemes.
  • Reply 16 of 57
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post



    Another one in a series of trashy, pointless acquisitions by a clueless company.

     

     

  • Reply 17 of 57
    Bump wasn't bad tech but unless everyone uses it then you can't rely on it.
    Google may be looking to bake it into Android so that all Android phones can easily exchange data.

    Apple already has AirDrop but it lacks the intuitive charm that bumping does.
  • Reply 19 of 57
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    No hate at all. Just puzzlement.

    I imagine it's gonna be what the previous poster suggested: Baked into Android proper. Not the worst idea by any means. Apple thought it was intriguing enough to feature in one of their iPhone ads didn't they?
  • Reply 20 of 57
    gatorguy wrote: »
    No hate at all. Just puzzlement.

    I imagine it's gonna be what the previous poster suggested: Baked into Android proper. Not the worst idea by any means. Apple thought it was intriguing enough to feature in one of their iPhone ads didn't they?

    Perhaps. But then there would be no reason to announce a 'closing down.'
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