Find Me - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

I'm a software engineer and I have a special interest in Android apps development since 2012. During these years, I've managed to develop many distinguished apps in different fields like 'Geo Reality': an augmented/mixed reality app, 'Forwarded Call Notification': a unique app to show a notification when receiving a forwarded call, in addition to many other personal and business apps.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

I live in Syria and I developed this app during the crisis my country suffered in the past few years. Many hurdles I had to overcome like the lack of electricity and living in shelters because of militias mortars, but the most challenging aspect was to develop a reliable app that people in danger or in emergency situations could rely on.

_{Johnny M. Rabbat}

Johnny is a Computer Systems & Software Engineer. He's also an instructor at the Department of Computer Engineering, Damascus University.

Name a few of your favorite apps and reason you love them.

For my personal and daily use I like social apps because they help people to connect and share their ideas.

How long have you been working on this app?

I've started working on 'Find Me' a few years ago, during this time many changes, bug fixes, and updates were made to deliver the app in the best possible shape.

What need of the user did you have in mind when developing this app?

As I've mentioned before, I have developed this app to help people in danger and emergency situations. Although, the app could be used in many non-emergency situations for example to track children, seniors and persons with disabilities, or to protect your phone from being stolen or lost, and many other uses depending on the user's need.

In what way do you think your app is better than similar apps on the market? Please describe in detail what innovation you think you bring and what you are proud of in your app.

Although some of the 'Find Me' features are already available in other apps, what makes 'Find Me' distinguished is being an integrated solution, combining all the features the user needs in emergency situations, all in a single application. Also, 'Find Me' delivers many innovative features like initiating an automatic phone call from your mobile to your emergency contact upon receiving an SMS with a pre-selected code from the contact, setting the loud speaker on, in case he/she is worried about you because you didn't answer to his/her calls. This way your emergency contact can listen to your surrounding sounds to check on you, or they could even shout during the call to attract your attention (if you forget and leave your mobile phone on silent mode or in your briefcase for example). This way also, if something is wrong, your emergency contact can alert others about your situation. Another cool feature 'Find Me' delivers is that it regularly checks your location every half-hour so it could use your last known location if your current location couldn't be detected (like indoors or underground).

What are your future plans and expected features of the coming new versions of this app?

I regularly update the app to fix bugs and improve performance. I'm planning to translate the app in different languages like Arabic, German and Spanish for easier use.

Assuming new users of your app are reading this page. What do you want to ask them to do (contact you about X, Share the app, etc.)?

I hope that everyone will try the app and keep it on their mobile phones because no one knows when you will suddenly find yourself in a dangerous situation, and when you will need someone to find you, or simply when you will loose your mobile phone and be unable to find it. Also, I wish anyone who tried the app to share it and tell the others about it, so everyone can make use of it.