Party Vibe

@General Lighting 600316 wrote:

a heads up (as 24 years ago I got myself in trouble doing something similar to what you did; although I will admit my views were more pro than anti)

At first glance your app appears to be pitched at teenagers/young adults around University age (I am aware that students can be also in their 30s-60s and may be parents too); in many UK Universities it is possible for particularly intelligent teens to go up long before age 18. Apps like this will be of interest to sixth formers. Therefore (as well as whatever boxes you have ticked for age ID which you have at least done correctly) you are still morally (and possibly legally) obliged to ensure your content is suitable for those age groups. The rules about this are stronger in Europe than in the USA.

I don’t think you will have any problem with the drugs charities websites; but from what I’ve seen there is very little control an app developer has over the ads shown in their apps; and the libraries used too deliver the ads can also be used to harvest data which can often be stored in foreign countries; often with less ethical or privacy standards than Europe. For instance your screenshots show ads for a foreign exchange trading website; which under 18s may not be eligible to use anyway (and would be unlikely to appeal to them). I don’t have an Android mobile device anyway (only a first generation tablet which often won’t install apps like this as they insist on the device being a “mobile phone”) so there is no gain for me or the devs in testing them.

I’ve not touched illegal or harmful drugs for some years and am in my 40s now – TBH I am thankful enough for reaching this age!

Also (barring gross overdoses) it is really only tobacco and alcohol which reduce life expectancy by significant factors. Even then alcohol needs to be used in excess or be a factor in making bad choice (such as driving or getting into violence) to reduce anyones life expectancy.

A tip: rather than roll out an app which could potentially just end up being ignored by its target audience as “too preachy” or worse ghettoised to “good kids” and perhaps even land you in bother for using the charities brands without their permission (unless you have done this and didn’t mention it in your promotion); why not do this the “proper way”? I think most CS students have to do a project around 2nd/3rd year? You could then do it with more people supporting you; have the harm reduction organisations/charitieis/NHS 100% on your side and get the profs of both science and arts faculties to assist you with dealing with the complex ethical/social issues leaving you to concentrate on your code….

if this actually is your uni project (it might well be) or you are using any of the Universities resources even to work on a bit of code in your lunch hour between lectures there may be an obligation to disclose this.

Hi, thanks for your message.

The age rating is for sure correct, as the first time I made a mistake and got a warning from PlayStore.

Would you be able to help me get downloads? Any marketing ideas as I want to help people but lack time and experience to make it more popular.

The charities gave me permission to put their logos into my apps. I have also checked their age rating. As for the advertisements – I have tried my best to limit what can be shown, and prevent user’s information from being made public. Since the screen shots I have changed the settings. At the end of the day I need to somehow get back my £200 investment before I can remove them.

My app should work on any device with at least Android 4.2 or above.

I agree that it is difficult to measure the amount of life each substance causes the user to lose, but it cannot be exact.

I already have another project in mind, it’s completely different to this don’t worry. And shortly the NHS will contact me and I will begin getting it uploaded to their website :-).

@Requiem 600345 wrote:

Think he might be suggesting that some substances cause little to no harm at all.

In terms of infoemation collected, why do you have to collect any?

Substances that do not cause any harm (for example Cannabis) only waste money, they do not waste life.

No information is sent back to me at all! Even the advertisements should be unable to see what you do with my app, the same applies to any app which has advertisements. I take your privacy VERY seriously!

@Requiem 600349 wrote:

How about campaigning for alcohol and tobacco to be criminalized as well then? So everyone can be as pissed off and inconvenienced about this whole situation. People get hooked and killed far more often and in higher numbers to both legal drugs AND prescription drugs so if anything more attention should be directed at those particular evils of society.

Hi Requiem,

Thanks for your feedback. Yes, you make some valid points, however at the moment I have only done enough research to input the substances you already find within SafeChoice. Even if I was presented with further evidence to add more substances I would be unable to due to money and time constraints (I am about to begin a 12 month industry placement for a London based company).

If this does bother you to such an extent feel free to contact me and I will provide you with a donation link (around £100 should cover the coding, and £400 for the medical research), or alternatively help promote SafeChoice to more users so I can make a return on my investment.

Thank you again.

@Requiem 600352 wrote:

So you have made an app around substances with the least evidence and argued it was bad, ergo your app.

Sorry the point I am making, and the point you need to address is substance ABUSE, not that all drugs are substances and should be lumped together. Every drug is different but to lump all illegals together, as if they are more harmful than the legal drugs. For the sake of consistency add the known deadly drugs that EVERYONE will come in contact with.

I think you need to download my app and have a look. This app is to measure the money you spend, and then keep track of how much life it takes away from you. Weed and a few other substances do not take life away, whereas meth on the other hand will. Each substance takes away a different amount of life.

This is just another way to help people quit, like it or not I want to try to help people – and my way of trying to help people is using my Computer Science skills, end of. If this saves one person’s life I’m happy.

@Requiem 600355 wrote:

So when the hell did life=money/

I cannot remember the exact figures, but for example if a cigarette takes away 7 minutes of life and you smoke a packet of 30 that cost you £15:

Money Wasted = £15
Life Wasted = 210 minutes

The app keeps track of what you do. Click on a date to see what you did on that day, or on the main screen it lists Money Wasted and Life Wasted for Week, Month and Year.

Feeling up for a challenge? Head over to SET A TARGET to set yourself a 7 day challenge :D.

@General Lighting 600360 wrote:

the problem isn’t so much with anything you are doing but the actions of the ad networks.

Unfortunately the PDF attachments on here are kaputt and I’d have to dig out the file with the info in it but just a few months ago a load of profs from a well respected science uni in France exposed how bad some of these are getting and how much personal info they leak. Even with the “good” ones it was found out by Ed Snowden that organisations such as GCHQ and even “private sector black hat “hacktivists”” are able to use the ads to track peoples network activity back down to the individual device. Worse still, there is a lack of transparency in how they operate meaning security flaws can get back in.

I work on integrating computers, and other telecoms equipment for use in 24/7 healthcare facilities as a day job so appreciate what you might be trying to do but it comes across that you also need to work more closely with the healthcare professionals at the frontline and/or the harm reduction workers to see exactly what they are faced with. Not all healthcare issues or lifestyle solutions can be simply reduced to algorithms in a computer program.

As I mentioned in my previous post this app is unlikely to work as well on my tablet; the ads bring in security risks and all the young people I know who can afford smartphones and know how to work them without risking their own security and safety don’t take drugs or smoke anyway.

I remember the warnings about how bad cigarettes were and how much they reduced your life from high school in 1980s – unfortunately none of that stopped me from smoking back then; it was only as my older friends who were into electronics and computers as a hobby got ill and passed away I and the govt put up taxes on tobacco I decided it was a good idea to stop. Also unless the weed is smoked pure or in a vaporiser it is going to cause all the same health problems as smoking tobacco (as it is normally mixed with it)

My app’s advertising is no different to any other app, so if you can’t trust mine there is no reason for you to ever use an app again. In fact you’re more likely to be tracked by your ISP or the advertisers going onto this website and face problems than using SafeChoice…

Furthermore, I have years of security experience. What you said about GCHQ is 100% correct, however do you think GCHQ really does care about someone smoking? 😀 As for everything else you said about security – you’re more likely to be caught by the Police doing drugs publically than have some cyber police “back trace” you online.

Yes I have less experience than you as I am not a healthcare professional, this doesn’t mean I should stop. Not sure if you’ve seen my previous post but I have lost so many friends (either dead, jail, or turned to crime to feed their habit) and want to TRY my best to stop it.

I agree with your point about weed, but when taken on its own the effects are not worth measuring in my app. The damage is no way near as bad as the other substances.