Color Social-Networking App: What Is It and Should You Care?

You may have heard about Color, the new social-networking app that’s raised a reported $41 million, but you may not understand just what it does. After all, the app’s website provides only the vaguest of descriptions: “Simultaneously use multiple iPhones and Androids to capture photos, videos, and conversations into a group album. There’s no attaching, uploading, or friending to do.” Sounds intriguing, but what does that mean exactly?

Using location-based services such as GPS, Color essentially lets users share the photos on their handsets with people—both strangers and friends—nearby (within a 150-foot radius of a user). Users can also create albums and social groups for photos that were taken at a particular event, and there’s the option to comment on photos and shoot video.

While the ability to interact with and view photos of fellow Color users may be part of what makes this app unique, the feature is also the cause for some concern: Critics have already pointed out that the app allows for virtually no privacy. According to the Wall Street Journal, the founders of Color Labs Inc., the company behind the app, believe that all photos and videos users share through the app are public, and therefore fair game for any users to view.

Judging by reviews on the iTunes store and across the blogosphere, Color hasn’t managed to distinguish itself from another infamous random-connection site: Chatroulette. As the app only allows users to interact with others who have it installed on their handsets, it may require a surge of curious users taking Color for a test drive for this social network to really take off.

While the verdict is still out, let us know what you think: Would you be interested in sharing photo and video memories with friends and strangers alike?

via the Wall Street Journal