Out there, numerous social & notification apps and sites are present. Having knowledge of all of them has become difficult. Both students and professionals alike are lucky because there is an app they can depend on for real-time notifications.

Presenting, Wildfire.

Wildfire app – what is it about?

The wildfire was created by four graduates and alumni of the University of California – Berkeley namely Hriday Kemburu (Serving as both the Founder and CEO), Vinay Ramesh (Company Business Lead), Jay Patel and Tim Hyon (Technology Lead for the app) respectively.

In 2015, Hriday Kemburu came up with the idea after a harrowing incident. One night, he was nearly mugged outside of the library of the University of California – Berkeley. Two men wearing ski masks and dark clothing had confronted him from behind the bushes. He luckily escaped the area unharmed and later informed the campus police who then acted accordingly.

He then subsequently posted about the incident on Facebook and on various student groups as well. He did get a lot of mentions and got responses. However, not every student in the University saw it, meaning everyone did not see it.

Since he was not friends with everyone in the University, he then began conceptualizing a mechanism that can help everyone in the university stay in touch and abreast of the latest happenings.

He then worked together with his friends to create Wildfire. The app is convenient for students, graduates, and professionals alike. It gives them real-time notifications about any events and incidents in their local areas.

Will the app ask users for some information?

When downloaded, the app will ask them the following:

• The person’s first and last name.
• The person’s pronouns.
• Their age.
• The person’s graduation date.
• Otherwise, they can use the ‘Not in College’ option.
• They’re university email if they are a student.
• The user’s phone number.
• It also asks users to make a username and add a display picture.
• Asking them to turn on the notifications and location from the menu.

Upon completion of the download, the app offers them 4 menu options namely: Home, Directory, Alerts, Profile, and Activity.

When did the app’s development start?

The idea for the Wildfire came in 2015 when Hriday Kemburu was almost robbed by muggers outside the main library of the University of California – Berkeley. Upon informing the campus police about it, he then posted about the encounter on social media.

Since he was not able to reach everyone, he did not get the needed response. As he was not friends with everyone in the University, he desired a platform where he could inform everyone about these incidents, regardless of their location and institution.

Despite posting on various student groups on Facebook, he was still unable to get everyone informed about the incident. With restrictions present on most social media tech sites and apps, the probability of everyone checking their social media feeds is also minimal.

After understanding that there was no effective way in spreading real-time updates within any local community, the founders decided to create an app informing people in their local communities about the incidents that take place in real-time. This resulted in the creation of Wildfire.

The app’s creators named Wildfire because they created it to spread news and notifications faster than any moving object. The app is available on both Android and iOS platforms, from where it can be downloaded with ease.

Can Wildfire’s accounts be verified?

Any journalist, law enforcement officer, or anyone working with the state needing verification of users of Wildfire can email the company at team@getwildfire.com. The company will cooperate in providing the needed details and information.

Can Wildfire be used for the wrong purpose?

The likelihood of it getting used wrongly is uncertain. There is uncertainty regarding the fact that whether Wildfire can be used in the wrong way and to create panic because its skeptics believe it to be just like another showpiece app without much use.

Though no incident of it getting used wrongly ever took place but there is a likelihood that it could be used in the wrong way.

Wildfire is regulated by its creators. They are always open to working with law enforcement agencies if something goes out of hand. Everyone hopes that Wildfire remains a good app and hopefully it will never be used in the wrong way.