Innovation of the week

Call it the “anti-social network,” said Heather Kelly in CNN.com. By tapping into your contact list, a new iPhone app called Cloak will warn you when undesirables—“exes, frenemies, or annoying co-workers”—are nearby, ending the awkward run-in forever. Users can view their contacts’ locations on a map and set up push notifications for specific folks they wish to avoid. When you click the map, “you’ll see his or her location, and about how long ago he or she checked in there.” Currently, Cloak only draws on data from Instagram and Foursquare, but developers hope to eventually add Facebook and Twitter integration. And Cloak’s developers say its appeal may extend beyond the anti-social set. “Anyone playing hooky, recovering from plastic surgery, or carrying on a clandestine relationship might also find the app useful.”

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