Google’s Neighbourly App Poses Challenge To Facebook & WhatsApp, Know How It Works

Google’s new Neighbourly App facilitates users to ask questions to those in their neighbourhood. It also allows answering questions asked by others. 

The app uses familiar social networking techniques like rating Neighbourly users by which they can accumulate credibility scores based on how others rank their responses.

Here are the steps to use the app:

• Go to Play Store and search for Neighbourly app. Download and install the app on your smartphone.
• Open the app. Sign into your Google account.
• Tap the green button at the bottom that says ‘Continue as (Your name).’ The app seeks permission to access device’s location.
• It will locate user’s GPS position, that sets the neighborhood accordingly. You will be required to accept certain guidelines, called the Neighbourly Promise. 

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About the app

Neighbourly, the hyperlocal social network was unveiled in India in May 2018, by Google’s Next Billion Users program. The neighborhood network lets people share local expertise and crucial information with others in the vicinity. The crowd-sourced recommendations range widely from your kitchen needs to other daily requirements. 

The app allows users to ask questions and get answers from other users in their neighbourhood and surrounding area. Google has started the pilot run of the app in Mumbai.

Users can type or use voice to answer neighbours’ questions, in own languages. A user can ask and answer questions without sharing private details. The app only shows the first name while keeping the phone number, full name and other information private.

A user’s profile photo cannot be enlarged or stored, unlike in other apps. Upon signing up, everyone pledges to keep the community safe and refrain from posting inappropriate or spam messages.

According to Google,

“Neighbourly is the human, helpful, and local way to ask and answer questions.”

With about half billion smartphone users in India, Google sees an opportunity to become a one-stop shop for search, social networking, and payments. Google even plans on challenging popular social networks like Whatsapp and Facebook. 

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