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Unseen Launches Flicks, a Photo Animation Feature for the Anonymous College Social App

Posted By : Mukesh Dube    At 04-02-2015 19:03:17

Tags : Photo Animation Feature App    

Unseen, an Austin-based anonymous social networking app for college students, has announced the release of a new version for iOS and Android. The update introduces innovative photo capture capabilities with a new feature called Flicks, which allows users to instantly capture and combine five photos into one looping image. The result is a GIF-style image that conveys subtle motions thereby breathing life into what would otherwise be a still photo.

“We are excited to see how Flicks will add more action and texture to the moments that Unseen users share,” said Michael Schramm, CEO of Unseen. “Flicks provides a near-video experience that will add movement to the feeds, without compromising our ability to ensure the Unseen community remains an anonymous and secure platform for college students to share and discuss their experiences.”

Flicks (see examples here) is based on GIF technology, which has grown in popularity in recent years as a way to share moving images without relying upon resource-intensive video technology. In addition to gaining the ability to post Flicks to the public feeds, Unseen users will also be able to send the GIFs as secure direct messages. In order to ensure 100% anonymity, direct messages travel completely encrypted between a user’s devices and the Unseen server. Should a hacker or third-party application intercept the message, its contents would be completely unreadable due to extensive encryption. What’s more, images exchanged over direct messaging self-destruct after viewing, and text-based exchanges expire after 24 hours.

Additional upgrades to the app include a text entry feature that will allow users to easily make attractive, text-based posts. “Many Unseen users expressed interest in a simpler way to contribute to the feed, so we created an intuitive option that will allow them to quickly write and share text posts,” said Schramm. “In the interest of helping users find more content within the app, we are also introducing a new filter menu that will help users sort posts, and a quicker way to browse other campus feeds. We also beefed up the app’s security by adding an extra layer of encryption to all direct messages.”

To download Unseen or request access on your college campus, visit the Apple or Google app store.