Bump

Bump! was an iOS and Android mobile app that enabled smartphone users to transfer contact information, photos and files between devices. In 2011, it was #8 on Apple's list of all-time most popular free iPhone apps, and by February 2013 it had been downloaded 125 million times. Its developer, Bump Technologies, shut down the service and discontinued the app on January 31, 2014, after being acquired by Google for Google Photos and Android Camera. Functionality Bump sends contact information, photos and files to another device over the internet. Before activating the transfer, each user confirms what he or she wants to send to the other user. To initiate a transfer, two people physically bump their phones together. A screen appears on both users' smartphone displays, allowing them to confirm what they want to send to each other. When two users bump their phones, software on the phones send a variety of sensor data to an algorithm running on Bump servers, which includes the location of the phone, accelerometer readings, IP address, and other sensor readings. The algorithm figures out which two phones felt the same physical bump and then transfers the information between those phones. Bump does not use Near Field Communication. February 2012 release of Bump 3.0 for iOS, the company took the unusual step of streamlining the app to focus on its most frequently used features: contact and photo sharing. Bump 3.0 for Android maintained the features eliminated from the iOS version but moved them behind swipeable layers. In May 2012, a Bump update enabled users to transfer photos from their phone to their computer via a web service. To initiate a transfer, the user goes to the Bump website on their computer and bumps the smartphone on the computer keyboard's space bar. By December 2012, various Bump updates for iOS and Android had added the abilities to share video, audio, and any files. Users swipe to access those features.