Microsoft is working on an app for Windows Phone which would rival Apple’s ‘Find My Friends’. The app, which is currently in private beta, will be called People Sense.
People Sense, or to give it its current codename, Buddy Aware, gives users the opportunity to check-in on where their friends are in real-time using Bing Maps and message them or call them from within the app.
If that kind of stalking isn’t sufficient, then the app will also let you get directions to your pal’s location with the help of an installed navigation app of your choosing, so you can head down there for a little face-to-face time.
The app was uncovered by Spanish-language site, Microsoft Place, and put through its paces in a short tester video which gives the impression that the service is relatively complete, despite its beta status. The testers claim that the gold version of the app will have a bunch of other, as-yet unlisted features too.
Among them, we hope, will be the opportunity to follow and communicate with contacts on other platforms, because it’s likely to be a pretty sparsely populated application if it’s reserved for only your Windows Phone buddies.
It’s not yet known whether People Sense will launch for the current iteration of Windows Phone 8.1, or whether it will be held back for the big Windows 10 rollout, but we’ll likely know soon enough and while the app’s clearly only Microsoft’s take on something already offered by Apple, it’s pleasing to see the company chasing the pack, rather than accepting omega status.
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