Platform: IOS
Cost: Free
If you’re an IOS user, there’s a new way to keep in contact with your closest friends by snapping pictures, thanks to Locket Widget.
This freshly-released app is #1 on the app store for the social networking category, and it’s easy to use! The steps are simple: once the app has been downloaded, you must create a widget that will stay on your home screen, add up to five friends, then start taking pictures. The pictures will appear on the dedicated widget in real-time.
Locket Widget is reminiscent of Snapchat in the sense that friends can send pictures of each other back and forth. But Locket Widget was created to be more personal than Snapchat, which is why the photos are designed to appear on your home screen. Unlike Snapchat, instead of the pictures disappearing, Locket Widget keeps a collection of previous images sent between your friends that you can look back on.
The app doesn’t notify the user when a new picture has been sent to their home screen. A notification feature might be added to later updates, but so far, the photos pop up as a surprise to the user. Half of the fun is the surprise! Imagine opening your phone and seeing an unexpected picture of your friend’s precious puppy. The sentimental value of having that moment on your home screen is part of the great experience the app offers.
You don’t have to worry about FOMO either! You can reply with a tap of the widget and then the app will direct you to the photo screen for you to capture a photo to be sent to your friends’ home screens.
Although the app is endearing, one common criticism users mention is the lack of friends allowed on the app.
Locket Widget is just another way for people to connect with each other, especially in the midst of a pandemic that sometimes makes it difficult to see our friends and family face-to-face.
