Bump, Flock apps to be discontinued

Smartphone file-sharing apps Bump and Flock have announced that they will be discontinued at the end of January. U.S. Internet giant Google bought the Bump Technologies startup behind the apps in September for a deal reportedly worth between $30 million and $60 million. "We are now deeply focused on our new projects within Google, and we've decided to discontinue Bump and Flock," Bump co-founder and chief executive David Lieb wrote in a blog post late Tuesday. On January 31, Bump and Flock will be removed from both the App Store and Google Play, after which neither app will work and all user data will be deleted. Over the coming weeks, users can export their data by opening either app and following instructions. They will then receive an email with a link containing their photos, videos, contacts and other data. Lieb thanked users for their feedback, enthusiasm and support over the years, saying it "brought much meaning to our work." "In many ways, Bump was a revolutionary product that inspired many subsequent advances and helped push the world forward," Lieb wrote. "We hope our new creations at Google will do the same." The Bump application lets smartphone users easily share data by gently knocking knuckles while holding devices. Flock software taps into smartphone location-sensing technology to note when friends are in proximity of one another and lets them contribute to sets of photos reflecting shared experiences such as a concerts or sporting events.