LokLok - Indie app of the day

What is LokLok?

LokLok is an interesting messaging premise that brings messages to your lock screen. The idea is simple. You create messages using hand-drawn text or images and those messages appear directly on the lock screen of the person you’re sending them to. They can then use the exact same image or message in their reply or reply with a fresh new message of their very own.

The premise is pretty cool and the execution is equally interesting. All messages appear directly on the lock screen and replying to messages also takes place directly on the lock screen. That means you do not have to unlock your phone, open the app, read the message, and respond in kind. You simply turn your screen on, read it, and respond. By removing steps, LokLok effectively makes the messaging process much more simple. Since you see messages as soon as you turn on the phone, you also lower the risk of someone not getting or not noticing an important communication. We liked that a lot.

In terms of operation, LokLok is pretty much like Snapchat. You can send text-only messages but more often than not you’ll probably be sending camera shots with words or drawings over top. The YouTube video above shows some interesting use cases for such a messaging system such as a man asking a woman which bottle of wine she would prefer. She then uses the same picture but adds an arrow to the bottle of wine that she wants. It’s also fairly nifty for things like sending a quick memo to pick up something from the store.

Some other fun features include a little bar that shows when someone is drawing, the ability to share images to social media, and the app developers make it very clear that there is no history stored and groups are completely private. The privacy may be good server-side but there is always the issue of having someone pick up your phone, turning on the screen, and seeing messages displayed. Thus, we recommend you take your more intimate conversations to a more private medium. Other than that, though, the app seems to be fairly solid in terms of privacy.

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