Want to avoid running into your friends while out on the road? There's an app for that.
A new Web application allows users to track what places their friends are checking into so the user can avoid running into them.
Titled "Cloak," the app "scrapes Instagram and Foursquare to let you know where all your friends, "friends," and nonfriends are at all times so you never have to run into that special someone," the Apple App Store description said.
Chris Baker, former BuzzFeed creative director who co-created the app with programmer Brian Moore, said it's the beginning of "anti-social" media.
"Personally, I think we've seen the crest of the big social network," Baker told The Washington Post. "Things like Twitter and Facebook are packed elevators where we're all crammed in together...I think anti-social stuff is on the rise. You'll be seeing more and more of these types of projects."
Once a friend's location is determined, that person's picture appears on Cloak's map. The user can "flag" those they want to avoid the most. An alert is sent to the user's phone whenever the flagged person is in a nearby location.
Currently the app only uses geo-location data from Foursquare and Instagram, but the creators hope to soon use data from Facebook and Google +. Twitter will not be used since it does not track geo-locations, CBS News reported.
The app is only available on the App Store.
"Right now we're just focusing on iOS. If the app proves to be a hit with users, of course we'll expand the idea...Plus we've got some fun features we'd like to roll out beyond what's included in our launch." The creators told Time.com.
Cloak is not the only anti-social app out there. Baker also developed a start-up titled "Rather," which allows users to do away with "the stuff you hate on Twitter and Facebook," the start-up's website said.
