English

Pome

Wherever you are. Whoever's there.

One group chat for everyone around you, and it works where your signal doesn't. Your phone talks straight to the phones around it, and they pass messages on until everyone has them.

Free. No ads. iPhone, iPad and Android.

The same lobby on an Android phone
The Pome lobby: people in range, a row of rooms, and a live conversation

What it is

Walk in and you're in the lobby with everyone in range. Open a room for the floor, the trip or the team, lock it with a passcode if you like, and it lasts as long as somebody's in it. Draw yourself a face, or make one from a photo. iPhone and Android share the same lobby, and every phone passes messages on, so the more people there are, the further it reaches.

Also

There's a table in every room.

Start something where the conversation already is, and keep talking while you play. Short a player? Add a bot to the seat if you want one.

A board game at a Pome table, with the room's chat one tap below

A network that only exists where people do.

Every phone running Pome is a piece of it, and it redraws itself every time somebody walks in or out. Nothing to sign up for and nothing to keep running. It works the same on a dorm floor, on a plane, and in a basement.

Mostly, though, it's a good way to find out what that noise was.

Questions

How does it work with no internet?
Bluetooth and local Wi-Fi, straight between phones, hopping phone to phone to reach everyone nearby. No server is involved at any point.
Do I need an account?
No. It deals you a name, you pick a face, you're in.
How private are my messages?
Direct messages are end-to-end encrypted between the two phones. There's no server, and the lobby and open rooms are for everyone nearby.
How far does it reach?
Room to building, depending on walls — and everyone in it extends it, because their phone relays too.
iPhone and Android together?
Yes. Same lobby, same rooms, and the games play across.
What if nobody's nearby?
Your lobby is empty. That's how it works, not a fault.
What does it cost?
Nothing, and there are no ads.