I’m a huge fan of Glympse. It’s simply the best real-time location sharing app available. I use it all the time when traveling to visit family or when I’m running around in a million directions and need to let my wife know where I am. This amazing app just got a whole lot better with a brand new update that brings some really nice enhancements.
Glympse Groups is perfect for meetings, sporting events, or get togethers. It lets you create a pre-defined group that allows several people to share their real-time locations with each other for a set amount of time. Group names can be any name you want as long as it begins with “!”. So if you’re meeting some friends at the ball game, you can create a group called !FenwaySox. All users have to do is send a Glympse to that group name, and everyone will be able to see each other’s location in real-time. Users can turn off their location sharing whenever they wish.
With Calendar Integration, Glympse can automatically schedule location updates to everyone associated with a specified calendar event. This works with Outlook, Google, and iPhone calendars. Now when there is a meeting scheduled, there’s no need to send an email or text letting everyone know you’re running late. Everyone will be able to see your exact location with a tap of their finger.
Last but not least is “Where Are You” or Request a Glympse, which allows your friends to send you a text or email requesting your location. All you have to do is accept it, and your location will be shared in real-time for a given period. You can also send requests to people who don’t have Glympse installed on their phone because they will be given an opportunity to download it.
The update is available now and all of these features work whether you’re using Android or iOS. Just hit one of the download links below to grab the update or to install it.
Full press release:
GLYMPSE EXPANDS LOCATION SHARING TO BE MORE RELEVANT, SOCIAL IN EVERY DAY LIFE
Introduces Glympse GroupsTM, One-Touch Calendar Integration, and Ability to Ask Friends “Where Are You?”
New Glympse Now on iPhone®, iPad®, and Android
SEATTLE – October 16, 2012 – Glympse, Inc., the mobile technology company that pioneered temporary real-time location sharing, today introduced a new mobile app with more services to make it even easier to share location with family, friends and colleagues whenever you want, and for however long you choose.
Available for free on iPhone, iPad and all Android platforms, the new app now includes Glympse Groups TM, which marries dynamic, real-time location with real-life activities that anyone can join. The new Glympse also includes one-step calendar integration that automatically sends a Glympse to participants in advance of a scheduled event, as well as a “Request a Glympse” feature so you can easily ask your friends, “Where Are You?” in one click, eliminating back-and-forth texting.
“We’ve reached a pivotal point in the evolution of location sharing – moving beyond check-ins and static one-time, closed-network sharing events to location as a mainstream way of communicating where someone is at any given time. People are actively seeking ways to share where they are more regularly and with broader groups of people – but with control,” said Bryan Trussel, CEO and co-founder of Glympse. “With Glympse, our goal is to provide an instinctive way for anyone to share their location – as privately or widely as they would like – by integrating the action easily into everyday activities.”
Using Glympse isn’t just easy, it’s instinctive. The new features and intuitive design have been developed with user input, further integrating Glympse into daily life, while ensuring users have complete control over how much, or how little, they want to share:
Glympse Groups
Glympse Groups allows users to share and interact via common activities, such as sporting or industry events, meetings or social gatherings. Glympse reveals group members’ real-time locations on a map for a set amount of time, encouraging local interaction and social discovery.
Joining a group is simple and instantaneous – users just need to enter bang (!) and the group name – and there is no need for a login or password as groups are open to all. For example, if you and several friends or colleagues plan to attend a conference or baseball game, they just send a Glympse to: !SFNightOut. Then the location of every group member is displayed on a map. Once a group member’s time limit expires, their location will no longer be shared unless they extend or resend the Glympse to the group. Individuals can stop actively sharing their location any time they choose.
Calendar Integration
By integrating calendars, like Outlook, Google and iPhone, Glympse allows users to automatically schedule location updates to everyone associated with a specific calendar event, virtually replacing the need for “Running Late” or “On my way” emails, texts or phone calls. Upcoming calendar events have been seamlessly included into the app’s “Shortcuts” setting and automatically add the meeting name and location to the Glympse. Now users are just a couple taps away from letting all the attendees know their location in real-time.
Request a Glympse
When Glympse first debuted, it made it fast and easy for users to “Share Your Where” with others, for a specified period of time without creating yet another network. Now, the new Glympse turns the tables and makes it just as easy to ask your friends, family, and colleagues, “Where are you?” With the new “Request a Glympse” feature, users simply send a request via text or email and recipients can instantly accept and start broadcasting their location for the given time period. If the recipient does not yet have Glympse installed, they can easily do so by clicking the link to download the app, and then accept the request to start sharing their location.
Glympse is available today in the App Store and Google Play. To download the free Glympse app, visit www.glympse.com/get_glympse
About Glympse
GlympseTM allows GPS-enabled mobile phone users to share their location for a pre-set period of time with anyone they choose. Available on iPhoneTM, Android, Blackberry and Windows PhoneTM, Glympse visually answers the question of “Where are you?” with a dynamic map that updates the user’s whereabouts in real-time and it easily integrates location sharing into every day activities and events. Glympse was developed with consumer safety and privacy in mind, and the service provides users with complete control over WHO can view their location, WHEN and for HOW LONG.
GlympseTM is a trademark of Glympse, Inc.