Build a Location-Based Geo Messaging App Like NearFi?

With industrialization has come the rise of metropolises. The cities have become vast, and services & facilities have come closer but people are drifting apart. To fill this gap, location-based communication apps like Nearfi are a significant part. Let’s discuss more about this app, its working principle, and everything you might be concerned about.

What Is a Location-Based Service (LBS)? 

While reading about the tools that provide location-based services, the first question that arises is, “what is location-based service?” So, interpreting in elementary words, LBS are basically the services that access the real-time data from a device to provide the relevant information to the user. By knowing about the geolocation of the device, the service helps users explore finding nearby places like ATMs, banks, geofencing hospitals, restaurants, hotels, etc. At the same time, geofencing services are also based on LBS only. 

The Global Location-based services market size accounted for $36.35 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $318.64 billion in 2030, with a projected CAGR of 24.3% during the forecast period.

How Does Location Technology Track the Movements?

Technology has developed numerous alternatives to find and track the location of a device. Some are more accurate than others due to the working principle they follow. The following are the most used technologies for tracking the movement of a device and identifying its location: 

1. GPS 

The most accurate technology for location tracking is Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS is the array of satellites that helps to find locations around the globe. A GPS receiver is installed in the respective device (almost all smartphones have one). The system is connected to four satellites at the same time. The comparison between the signal delay then helps to determine the pinpoint of signal oriented.

2. Wi-Fi 

Besides GPS, Wi-Fi technology is also widely used to determine the location of devices. This technology is used primarily on geofencing applications to connect with nearby devices, with or without the existing internet connectivity. When any device is connected to Wi-Fi, its IP address is obtained by the network provider. This IP address helps to identify the location of the device to send the information accurately.

3. RFID 

RFID refers to Radio Frequency Identification. RFID consists of three elements i.e. RFID tag, RFID reader, and antenna. The tags consist of an integrated circuit with an antenna to transmit the data to the reader. The reader converts the radio waves into a usable form of data. This data is then transferred to the computer system to use and store for a longer time. 

4. Cellular Technology

Much like Global Positioning System, Satellites are substituted by Cellular Towers. While using this technology, the device is in the range of two such towers to use the triangulation concept and determine the location of the device. 

5. QR codes

QR codes are similar to the Wi-Fi concept of location tracking. Whenever any user scans a dynamic QR code, the respective information is logged into the device. It includes the position of the QR code owner, discounts, offers, coupons, etc.

How Do Location-Based Services Work? 

The working principle of location-based service is based on the above-defined technologies. Devices use one or more technologies to locate the target audience. Once the device has tracked the current location, it then divides the use case into two terms. The first is a pull notification, while the other is a push notification. 

• Pull Notification is basically the information and service personally seeked by the device owner. For example, the nearby ATM, hotel, restaurants, hotel, or anything. This information is demanded by the user. 

• Push Notification, on the other hand, is the information that might interest the user but is not asked for. For example, receiving discount coupons and offers from nearby restaurants.

Types of Location-Based Services 

There are four types of location-based services that assist in a facility’s overall use case. The types are-

1. Maps and Navigation 

The foremost and one of the core types of location-based service. It includes maps, routing, assisted navigation, etc. So, this type of service helps you find your path, reach a destination, and identify different routes.

2. Tracking services 

Another type is tracking services. First of all, it helps you track the location of your friends and family. So, it assists in most of the security-focused apps. Other than monitoring your loved one’s location, you can also know about traffic updates across the city.  

3. Information services 

As the name suggests, this service provides insight into your concern’s geographical areas. You can access information such as local contacts (yellow-white pages), user-generated content, city guides, etc. 

4. Applications 

Further, it also helps to build the social network on the basis of demographic areas of users. At the same time, contextual advertising is also a prominent type of location-based service to communicate to the target audience of particular geolocation. 

What Is a Location-Based Geo Messaging App?

Any application or software that depends on the use of location tracking and information to deliver its purpose is called a location-based service. For example, we can talk about Google Maps. The complete purpose of the application is based on locations and geographics. 

Nowadays, the concept of last-mile delivery is in trend. According to the idea, every product should reach the customers’ doorsteps so they don’t even have to step out of their homes. But, this concept totally depends on using maps and navigation. Let it be commodity delivery service, food delivery service, postal services, e-commerce services, or anything else. So, the range of location-based communication tools and apps is broad in today’s time. 

What is the NearFi App?

Among other hundreds and thousands of apps, NearFi is also a mobile application based on the geolocation concept with a Geo Messaging tool. However, the way this application utilizes the idea differs from most others. With NearFi, you can connect and communicate with the people within the area 100 meters from you. 

Insight to Gain an Accurate Understanding of NearFi App

Pupular Modern Use Cases for NerFi App

You might doubt the use case of such an app that helps you connect to random people in your area. But, the use case of Neafi and similar apps are broad as well as very useful. Let’s know about them with some interpretation- 

1. Know your neighbors 

There’s a saying in India that “Neighbors are the closest relatives”. Your busy schedule might be stopping you from visiting your neighbors physically. So, an app like Nearfi helps you significantly to connect to your neighbors through digital means. You can talk to your neighbor, invite them over, share your problems, and much more. 

2. Seek help 

With apps like NearFi, you can quickly seek help from the people available in the nearby area. If you are stuck in any area, met with an accident, want to know about someplace, or anything else, you can drop a message in the app, and people near you will automatically reach out to you. 

3. Meet with people of similar interest 

By texting on the app, you come to know about the people with similar interests, religion, culture, or background living in nearby areas to you. So, you can make new friends with whom you share some similarities. 

4. Request Cooperation 

There are times in daily life when strangers’ cooperation can help solve your big problem. Suppose you have lost an important document or belong to a particular place. You can drop a message, and all the nearby people will be informed instantly. At the same time, you can also request them to return the lost item to your address.

Vital Features to Look for When Developing a Geo Messaging App  

NearFi focuses on a tiny portion of location-based service, while the latter term is a whole giant concept in itself. Having gone through the above section, you would be already familiar with the features and use cases of NearFi and Similar apps. So, we will go through features that we can expect in any location-based app or tool.  

Popular Use-Cases of Location-Based App

As we interpreted earlier that most of the services in today’s landscape and providing the services to the doorsteps of customers, use cases of location-based apps and tools have also stretched. Let’s discuss them one by one-

How to Develop a Location-Based Communication Tool? 

Popular Location-based apps have already attracted a user base of millions, and now the owners of these apps are financially independent. With a long list of use cases, there is no denying the statement that a well-managed location-based app can bring a good user base and, thus an excellent income to you. 

Being a good investment option, you might be curious about the whole process and steps to be taken care of while developing the app. To ensure that you invest in app development wisely, we are hereby enlisting the basic steps that you have to follow-

1. Get a clear vision

As we studied in the earlier section, the location-based services niche holds a broad portfolio of different types of apps, so you should have a clear vision about the type of app you want to develop. Here, you might focus on the app niche, which plays a major role in the day-to-day life of people. It will help widen the range of the target audience of the app. 

2. Dive into market research 

Make sure that each decision you take in the app development process is based on facts and statistics. Identify the broadest niche of location-based apps. Know about the competitors, the number of users they have acquired, the features they are providing, the competitive edge you might leverage, and much more. Remember, the deeper you go in market research, the better you will be able to play the game.

3. Create a feature list 

Hundreds of apps are in the same sector, category, and niche. Still, some hold millions of users while others don’t even manage to attract hundred. It’s all about features instilled in the app. So, create a list of features you want to see in the app. Instill the essential features and try to add some USP in your app to attract the audience. 

4. Hire an app development team 

When you have developed the vision and gained all the important insight supporting your decision, get in touch with an app development team. This team is going to be your partner in transforming the idea into reality. Communicate ideas, all your needs, features, and vision behind developing the app.

5. Keep an easy-to-use but creative UI

No longer is it the time when you would instill creative and attractive slags to entertain the audience. On the other hand, apps based on location services are more preferred to use the map as the user interface. Other than welcoming the user, this interface instantly allows the users to give commands in the app.

6. Select the technology

There are several platforms where you can launch your app. However, you can cover most of the user population just by launching the app on Android and iOS. You can choose one of the two or both based on the availability criteria of your target audience. At the same time, discuss the technological framework well with your app development team. 

7. Check the prototype 

A prototype is basically the raw structure of the app that will give you a rough idea of the user experience and overall functionality. Check the prototype efficiently and ensure the smoothness along with the feature’s accessibility. Any changes suggested at this stage will not affect the cost or duration of your project, but once the prototype has been passed, any changes in the further stages might cost you both time and money. 

8. Quality Analysis 

Once the app has been developed, process it from the quality analysis stage multiple times. It will help you find the bugs in the application and remove them before uploading it to the respective platform. Lesser the bugs are, the smoother the user experience.

9. Upload the app

Having completed all the above stages, upload your app on the respective platform. You can do this by yourself as well as through the app development team you have hired. 

10. Display your app

You can not attract users as long as you don’t tell them about the app. Use various platforms to display your app, and communicate its functionality, features, and more.

How Much It Will Cost to Develop a Location-Based Communication App?

Instead of committing a price tag, the app development justifies the statement, “you get what you pay for”. The app development cost is never constant; thus, it increases or decreases digits due to a range of factors. Here you can raise two questions. Either what is the cost of app development or what are the factors on which the cost depends? 

The answer to your first question is in the second sentence of the last paragraph. So, answering the second question, a range of factors determine the cost of app development. The range includes but is not limited to-

• Number of features you wish to instill,
• Type of features you want to provide, 
• The country you are hiring the team from,
• Platform (Android or iOS) you are developing the app for, 
• The time it takes for developers to build a mobile app,
• Tech stack used in the application, 
• Changes you seek at different stages, and much more.

Technology Required of Location-Based Communication App

• UX/UI design
• Quality assurance & testing
• Project management
• Business analysis
• Software Architect
• Development (iOS, Android, Web front-end, Web back-end)

A location-based service provider app is built on a particular technology that helps the app to access information about geolocation, positions, parameters, addresses, movements, etc. However, the technology Stack is wide enough, allowing the app to choose how it wants to receive the insight. 

Popular APIs that Can Be Used for Developing Location-Based Communication Apps

While developing any of the location-based service apps, you might take the assistance of the following APIs

How Emizentech Can Help You?

As we discussed, you will need an app development Company as a partner to transform your idea into reality; Emizentech is eager and also the best fit to be that partner. The firm is made up of experience and vision more than brick and mortar. Having spent a decade in the industry, we have successfully worked on thousands of projects for hundreds of clients. 

Experience can only be earned, and this accumulated experience helps us provide extraordinary flexibility to our clients. Any IT firm can develop an app for you, but we know the challenges that might cross the path in this journey. So, we know well how to tackle such challenges. Moreover, the experience of a decade has enabled us to identify the cost-saving areas where we can save significant financial resources without compromising the app’s functionality. 

We can bet on our services, and it helps us to provide your pre- as well as post-service support. You might have numerous doubts regarding the project and idea. We provide a free consultation session of an hour with our project manager where you can discuss your idea to get the doubts cleared. At the same time, we also provide you ample support even after the delivery of the project. 

Final Words

If you live in a metropolitan city, you might be using google maps or something to reach different places in your own city. So, in today’s life, when the borders of cities have stretched to hundreds of kilometers, digital maps and location-based communication a tool have become the core part of daily life. 

Other applications such as eCommerce, on-demand services, assisted healthcare services, and security reasons have catalyzed the use case of such services. So, developing an app in this niche might lessen the required efforts for attracting the target audience. If designed and managed well, the app can surely bring you a passive income as well.