ScreenPop uses Android lock screen as huge canvas for photo messages

By Les Shu Published February 10, 2015

screenpop uses android lock screen huge canvas photo messages — Image used with permission by copyright holder

What’s the most wasted space on your phone? If you said the lock screen – the first thing that greets you when you pull your phone out of your pocket – then you’d be correct. A company called Locket has created an app (of the same name) that uses that real estate to deliver photos, videos, weather, and trending stories that are based on interests, swiping habits, and time of day. Using that same platform, the company has just launched ScreenPop, an Android messaging app that lets you snap a photo and send it quickly to another ScreenPop user’s phone – all from the lock screen and without having to open the app.

Besides photos, ScreenPop lets you add emojis, doodles, and photo captions. The content only stays on the lock screen until users swipe to unlock. From the lock screen, you can enter the camera to take a photo or pick one from your camera roll. Of course, the recipient you send stuff to must also have ScreenPop installed.

Examples of different uses of ScreenPop. — Examples of different uses of ScreenPop. Image used with permission by copyright holder

The idea came to Locket CEO Yunha Kim after she noticed a teenager was receiving lots of photos and messages from various apps that she wasn’t bothering to open. Like Locket, ScreenPop is designed to make that content more relevant. “Imagine every time you check your phone, you are seeing notes and photos from your friends right there on the lock screen. As long as you are using the phone, you can’t miss it,” Kim says in a release. Results from beta testing revealed that ScreenPop users were sending more than 40 photos per day. Google Play store rating of 4.7 (out of 5 stars) show a favorable reception from early users, with one calling it better than Snapchat.

The app is available for download via Google Play.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

I am formerly a senior editor at Digital Trends. I bring with me more than a decade of tech and lifestyle journalism…

Social Media

Bluesky barrels toward 1 million new sign-ups in a day

Social media app Bluesky has picked nearly a million new users just a day after exiting its invitation-only beta and opening to everyone.

In a post on its main rival -- X (formerly Twitter) -- Bluesky shared a chart showing a sudden boost in usage on the app, which can now be downloaded for free for iPhone and Android devices.

Computing

How to make a GIF from a YouTube video

woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Social Media

I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.