As if we haven’t already learned that everything lasts for ever, even a selfie on Snapchat, another app developer is pushing boundaries with a copycat version though this one gives the user a little more control. Presumably. If you have kids on social media this is one to learn about.
The Selfie.im app is a lot like Snapchat, offering you limited time shared portraits that self-destruct, 007 style, though for an amount of time you designate: 4 hours, 3 days or 2 weeks. The developers claim it’s not just about selfies, but communicating through your visual language, using your image as a status update. Emoticons are so 2008.
Now I can’t entirely imagine why someone would decide that a photo of themselves should be in your hands for only two weeks as opposed to 4 hours, but there it is. And I don’t know if it was a good choice to show a relatively creepy middle-aged dude “liking” photos of young women in their app screenshots on iTunes. Says the mom.
But hey, at least this app lures you into less of a sense of false security than Snapchat which proports to magically make your pics disappear after a few seconds. Even though apps like SnapHack put a big wrench in that.
In any case, we have no idea if Selfie.IM will take off but it’s definitely a good one for parents to keep their eyes out for on their kids’ mobile devices. Make sure to check the privacy page, which informs us that info you share “may be disclosed to other users of the Service or the general public” and then again, once more: “your User Submissions may be shared in a public or quasi-public manner.”
I like the comment from our Senior Associate Editor Christina, who wonders, “why can’t someone just develop a Selfie app that squirts ink at you while you take the picture? I hate this selfie trend.” Right. –Liz
Selfie.im can be found on iTunes for free (requires iOS7), and is made for for children 13+.
