This new app called Cloak is a continuation of an anti-social trend that can be seen in applications like Snapchat and WhatsApp.

Ever wanted to avoid someone?  It’s not that you don’t like this person, but your day just might be better if you did not randomly run into him or her.  If so, there is a new app called Cloak that is just for you.  It’s the newest in anti-social apps.  It helps you deliberately avoid people.  That’s right; Cloak has teamed up with Instagram and Foursquare, using their location devices to find your friends, so that you can avoid them.  It’s currently only for iOS, but the idea is that it will expand if people like it.  It’s currently free in the app store.

Cloak is described as a way to, “avoid exes, co-workers, that guy who likes to stop and chat – anyone you’d rather not run into”.  You can see a picture of the screen to the right.  Cloak gets people’s location from Instagram and Foursquare check-ins and then puts your friends faces where they most recently checked-in.  It has a few cool features including the fact that you can set up alerts when certain people get near so that you can avoid them.

The guys who created this program believe that these anti-social apps are the future.  Other people agree, saying that the trend that is happening with more anti-social apps can be seen in popular apps like Snapchat  and Whatsapp.  These apps are based on personal contact instead of one person posting to the whole public like Facebook and Twitter.

This new app called Cloak could be fun, but it is concerning that people would want to avoid those who are on their friends or followers list.  That’s the irony of this app.  You aren’t going to know where everyone you know is, just the people that you follow on Instagram or are acquainted with on Foursquare.  If this app becomes popular, it seems to say that people are becoming avoiders instead of having the hard conversations with friends. 

Here is some more in-depth information about the app: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/cloak-new-anti-social-app-helps-3260783