GeoReal

BeReal, but based on space instead of time! Mark off areas on the map and capture memories spontaneously. See who's been in various parts of the planet!

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See the video above and these slides for the best version of the pitch.

Inspiration

BeReal is great, but it's not perfect. We like the idea of a more authentic approach to social media, but forcing users to wait for a certain "time" isn't an ideal solution.

(If you're not familiar with BeReal... the app prompts all of its users at a random time to submit a selfie. Simple as that!)

What it does

Instead, we introduce GeoReal. Instead of getting a notification at a certain time, GeoReal notifies you when you hit a marked off place!

Users around the world can set up geofences at key areas (e.g., your wedding venue, a concert, your dorm). When other app users enter the space, they're prompted to take a selfie (and must take it right away!).

How we built it

We wrote an Android app using Java, and a backend server using the Flask framework (with Python). More information about our public API and client-facing app is in the slides!

Challenges we ran into

There were a number of challenges in dealing with manipulating the map on the frontend. In addition, Python and Firebase aren't the most natural pair.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We developed a fully functional app within the time period that achieves our goal of BeReal-inspired authenticity without the forced timeliness.

More information about our accomplishments is also in the deck linked above!

What we learned

This was the first hackathon for one of our teammates; he learned how to work with RESTful APIs and Flask. We also learned a ton about working with geographic data in Android, and working with Firebase.

What's next for GeoReal

  • Add regions that expire
  • Add private regions
  • Work on scalability
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