I might be sending a "yo" cos I'm home, I might be sending a "yo" because I'm out of weed, I might be receiving a "yo" because my pizza is about to arrive.
In all these cases it's the metadata that matters, I can infer the rest from that.
HNers are talking that they can't like favourite artists on FB because they are afraid to be affiliated with gangs. Or that liking something might help to detect that the user is gay (I didn't make that up).
I mean, yeah privacy is serious. But if you think someone actually cares and tries to find some meaning in a teenage kid saying 'yo'...
Yeah, they do. And they can. In fact, in Snowden's most recent interview, he explained how even something as benign as searching for football game scores on their smartphone can lead to lots of information being revealed about that person, simply from all the metadata web applications, protocols and phones emit.
It may sound ridiculous to you, but it isn't. Data is precious.
Anyone worried about metadata collection should see the merit of this app, it is pure metadata-only communication.
It being easier allows people to drive, spend less time texting when meeting up, etc. Silly use case? Sure. But look at the install base.
I can't believe I hated on Slingshot, but am actually giving this credit.
That's the point. My dealer and I have that context. The police don't. (Hypothetically speaking, of course.)