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Comment by nicholasjbs | Hacker News Reader

I saw a subway ad for this a few weeks ago and immediately downloaded it. During setup, it asked for my home and work addresses so it could save my commute.

I trusted the app when it said, “We won’t share this info with anyone.”

Here’s a screenshot: https://mobile.twitter.com/nicholasbs/status/113532302185253...

After setting it up I wondered how a free app with no ads or in-app purchases and which didn’t share your data could possibly make money, so I googled it.

I discovered that Pigeon is made by Google. I went back to the App Store listing to see how I could have possibly missed this and found there is no mention of Google anywhere in the App Store or the app itself unless you click through to the Privacy Policy.

There are, however, plenty of reviews from people confused why an app like this would only support sign in with Google.

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Not only that, but the site’s FAQs spin to sound like an authentic NYC startup. See the question and answer about why iOS and not Android for now.

EDIT/UPDATE:

FAQ Questions (now?) mention Google, but imply it’s a local team in “Google’s workshop”:

Q. How started?

A. After years of living in New York City and commuting on the subway, the Pigeon team knows first-hand that public transit can be frustratingly unpredictable. So when we started this project, we decided to create a product that lets subway riders help each other avoid delays, crowds, and incidents that make can make commuting so stressful.

Q.Who created this?

A. Pigeon is lovingly designed and built by a small team based in New York as a part of Area 120 - Google's workshop for experimental products. For the Pigeon team, being a part of Area 120 means we have the opportunity to create a new, experimental product that we can continuously test and improve to make sure it’s something that our users love. For our users, it means you get a chance to experience our app in its early stages and help shape the product as it grows.

Q. Only for New York?

A. Pigeon’s dream is to make it easier to get around all cities. But, since Pigeon is new and the team still has a lot to learn, we decided to start in our own backyard of NYC: home to the largest subway system in the US. We think starting here will help us figure out what works and what doesn’t as we move toward this goal.

Q. Android?

A. We’re currently focused on learning and testing with iOS users in NYC, but we hope to bring Pigeon to Android soon. Please sign up for our Android waitlist to be notified when it becomes available.

The Transit Heroes FAQ may be clearer:

Q. What would I get?

A. An opportunity to meet up with the Pigeon team and other Transit Heroes at the Google NYC campus.

> why an app like this would only support sign in with Google.

To be fair, they developed an iOS app first and there currently lacks Android support. The Google Sign-in could just be a matter of prioritization and it's easier to implement this boilerplate at Google.

Well, you haven't given any new info to Google on that case, at least. If you have an Android phone they could guess your work and home address from your commute patterns.

Considering the fact that he's complaining to Apple's app store in the linked tweet, I don't think an android phone is likely.

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