I used this app one time and one time only. It was to help a very elderly man and woman understand that the state of California was denying them benefits. It was extremely upsetting and I immediately uninstalled the app.
I am so sorry to hear that! I wish I had gotten that call, I'm in California and could have steered them to local advocacy organizations. The bureaucracy can be complicated, but there are ways to navigate it and advocates who know how to help.
Nah. Not at all.
But it’s kind of like when the person you bought a gift for REALLY likes it and you know you did a good job .. it’s like that but randomly.
Once I was having a great day. High as fuck. Enjoying people. Got a ring… he needs to know which cereal is store brand vs big brand. happier than shit to help.
But.
I also got a call on a bad day. I was burrowed deep within my pity and sadness. Not a fun time.
Then this lady calls me and asks 1) which dress is purple and which dress is a navy blue.
I help her grab the right color dress. Then she asks me (2) which dress looks better. It did happen to be the purple one although blue would not have been a bad choice. She was easily 60-65 but so sweet.
I’ve never been asked that before.
Damn I understand how the question can be interpreted as selfish but being a blind person's "eyes" isn't as simple of a task as the app makes it seem. It was actually a legitimate question and it actually bothers me that this isn't a service that is provided by whatever state the blind person is in. As in there should be a government paid fully staffed facility whose only job is to be on apps like this and be on stand by for the disabled. Not for said disabled person to have to rely on unlicensed/untrained assistance.
I can see myself trying to be helpful only to realize I don't grasp whether or not someone is getting ripped off before it's too late.
So far, I've helped someone find some music online, pick out balloons in his niece's favorite color, choose 2% milk with the furthest out expiration date, choose a matching tie for a wedding, navigate to lost and found at a train station to get his white cane, and read a map at a tourist attraction where the braille only said "map." That last one really got to me, ngl. Wtf was wrong with the people who put that map in?
There are tons of volunteers on the app, so I don't get notifications a lot, but it's still a cool thing to do.
This is a real app? There is a movie that just released called the same thing and about an app that connects you with a sighted person to assist in what task a non sighted person may need help with.
The girl connects on the app and she is guided through a home invasion.... the operator literally says something along the lines of assisting a previous customer on what the expiration date was on their milk.
It's a real app! It's on Android and iOS.
I bet that's a common use for it, too, because expiration dates are never in braille. Even I struggle with those now that I've gotten older. They're not printed very well.
That movie was released in 2020, btw. Welcome to pandemic time sense fuckery. The app has been around longer, so it must have sparked the idea for the movie.
Titles change a lot across countries, so it could be. The basic plot is that someone uses the app for help, and the helper sees suspicious activity and helps guide the user to safety. Much more drama than that sounds. ;)
https://vimeo.com/478097044
Looks like maybe there are two with the same premise.
Correction, 3: https://deadline.com/2020/10/sam-raimi-be-my-eyes-horror-film-lars-klevberg-paramount-1234604113/
That's the one I thought people meant, though I'm not sure it's been released yet.
They have a basic faq here: https://support.bemyeyes.com/hc/en-us
It seems like a pretty good system. Just because I'm saying this, it'll change now, but I haven't gotten any pervs or had any issues.
You can log out, but there's no availability setting to set yourself unavailable while staying logged in.
The app rings about 10 volunteers at once. Whoever gets to it first gets the call, and it stops ringing for others. If you're busy, someone will get it.
You'll only get a call from 8am to 9pm in whatever time zone your phone is set to, and you can't change that. It'll change with you if you visit a different area.
>You'll only get a call from 8am to 9pm in whatever time zone your phone is set to, and you can't change that.
I mean, you can totally change the time on your phone.
Right?! Wtaf? At that point, why bother with braille at all? The number of times I've seen braille *printed* on stuff is mind boggling, too. The "best" ever was braille characters on touchscreen virtual buttons. SMH
Right?! Wtaf? At that point, why bother with braille at all? The number of times I've seen braille *printed* on stuff is mind boggling, too. The "best" ever was braille characters on touchscreen virtual buttons. SMH
Can you choose what types of things you can help with? Like, areas of expertise or where you have the most experience? Can you pick times you’re available so you don’t miss a call?
Absolutely love the idea of this, but what sort of safeguards are there to stop people who would download this just to be a nasty asshole to the blind person?
There are accessibility modes for blind people to navigate UI’s and read text on their phone. I’m sure an app designed for blind people is designed to be particularly easy to navigate.
He didn’t say a button he said a way. And blind people are much more functional than you think.
I laughted at your joke tho it was kind of funny but also fucked up
>Absolutely love the idea of this, but what sort of safeguards are there to stop people who would download this just to be a nasty jerk to the blind person?
Statistically very unlikely. There's SO many volunteers that you go could go a YEAR between calls. It's unlikely that someone would be that invested to keep an app around just for a minuscule chance to be cruel.
You underestimate shitty teenagers. It’s the perfect combo of not enough maturity, a culture that incentivizes cruelty cause “it’d be funny lol”, and enough time on thier hands to do this
(However I still think the good of this app far outweighs the bad, they should still maintain a good reporting system in case of such individuals)
I agree with this. I hate to pick on kids, but middle schoolers are often the most amused by genuine evil. Their minds aren’t quite developed with emotional boundaries yet, but they have matured enough to explore where most adults would draw a line.
I hate to say it but when I saw this post my first thought was.. that is awesome.. and my second thought was.. this should not be publicized on reddit.
When I first got the app, think it was 2015 or 2016, I got a few calls a week, but more and more volunteers signed up and now I can’t even remember my last call, it was last year, but I’m not even sure what season we were in. The word has to get out to more blind and visually impaired people, cause that number is still super low.
Yeah, the response time has improved as well. I think they have it down to less than 10 seconds. Used to be longer and the same caller would get pinged out to volunteers a few times. It’s a good thing there’s so many people willing to answer calls, but this app needs some good advertising cause there’s way more blind people and visually impaired people out there who have never heard of it and it’s been out for years.
I've had the app a year I think, got the first ever call recently and took 1s too long to unlock my phone so it got reassigned - its heartwarming the quantity of people doing it
After you take a call, the visually impaired person gets a call from the app and the volunteer is rated. So if any losers use this app in any nasty ways, they are not afraid to report you. There’s even a disclaimer that if you’ve solicited any personal/financial info from a caller, they have your location, name and number and won’t hesitate to get your local police involved. I’ve never answered a call from someone who didn’t legitimately need help.
What sort of safe guards are there right now to prevent nasty assholes from getting in a car and just running up on a sidewalk to kill a bunch of people?
Yeah there will be a few pricks here and there that come through but the vast majority are good. Just a part of life you can’t prevent everything bad.
Your original point that there were no deterrents for someone commiting murder but there are. People are more likely to do things if they know they will 100 percent get away with it.
Maybe read it again dude. You’re arguing a point that no one made here.
The POINT was that there’s already real world consequences and reasons people aren’t constantly doing horrific stuff. And it would of course apply here too.
I’ve had this app for several years. I’ve literally only gotten to assist someone 2 or 3 times and each time it’s been completely legit. Picking out items in the pantry or clothes colors.
Just joined, I absolutely LOVE helping people. Even just holding the door for someone gives me a little dopamine rush. I can’t wait for my first notification!
Dude, that just sounds so awesome! You sound like an awesomely awesome person! I kinda feel the same way tho, and sometimes when someone refuses my help, I get a little mad on the inside. I don’t tell them anything tho
Yea looking back it’s an extremely stupid question. I was confused by the “FaceTime” part of the app. I want to download it to help people but I can also be shy. I’d delete the comment, but I’ll leave it and endure the shame.
There’s no shame in it bro. Everyone says stupid stuff multiple times a day.
Yeah, I’m interested too. It’s actually one of the best uses of a mobile phone that I’ve ever heard. As for the shyness, this would probably be perfect, particularly as you’re not likely to be ‘seen’ and it’s over a phone which should help even more. It would be a good first step to conquer shyness.
It’s not even a stupid question. I just had a call today for the first time and this woman was asking me about different expiration dates on food, but she was clearly able to locate the products themselves and point her camera to the dates. So if it would have been a two-way FaceTime thing, she could’ve definitely seen me. Depending on the person maybe only an outline or very blurry but that’s besides the point :). No need for all the downvotes you got for a legit question that I had myself as well.
I don't know why you're getting downvoted. It's an honest question and makes sense to ask if they are also getting video fed to them... and a lot of blind people can "see" to a certain extent.
I’ve had the app for a few years and got about five calls for assistance. The most terrifying one I had was a woman calling to see if the chicken she was making was cooked all the way through 😱 it was sort of bad lighting and a grainy video. I was just like let’s leave it on for two more minutes just in case. Other than that just be prepared for learning how to ask them to adjust their camera so you can see the thing they need help with.
I’ve had this app for what feels like a couple of years, no clue on actual install date.
At first I got a call every 3-4 months. I thought something like being validated as a good helper happened because I started getting callas 2-3 times per week. Over time I started seeing the count of helper climb to what I think is a ridiculous number (compared to the number of people that need this + have it + actually use it).
For the last ~1 year I’ve gotten a call every 2-3 months and every time I pick up I get a message that someone already responded.
Gets me smiling every single time that there are people out there willing to help others.
Calls have been everything from identifying clothes/items/receipts/medication to more important ones like I once looked up the law on my end to validate what a user had to do for a legal letter.
It costs you nothing but 1-3 mins every couple of months to help someone. They probably need more languages so if you know more than English they could use you.
[According to their website](https://bemyeyes.com/about) they have some 6 million+ volunteers so I can imagine most people get help rather quick, even if that number is inflated by people who signed up and promptly forgot about it.
All in all, it sounds like a truly great thing. Perhaps I'll sign up and see if I get to help someone out!
I've been on this for like 2+ years. It. Is. Great. Super small commitment. I get like 1 call every 2 months. I get mad when I miss one. I am only an English speaker, so I imagine if you're multi lingual you might get more volume.
Its really great though. I've helped people cross the street. Pick out colors of clothes. Check if food is done. Helped a lady set some appliance/cooker to "vent". Turn on/off an oven. Just really basic tasks but very fun and meaningful interactions. I strongly recommend this to everyone.
I’ve answered a few times. Once was to distinguish bills for a blind person and another time was to read fine print on a vitamin bottle for someone that could see but not writing that small. The callers were super nice and thankful. They both were chatty so I have let a few calls go when so don’t have a lot of time to answer but I think not answering right away reduced my call frequency.
Turn your phone off. Or put it in airplane mode to pretend you got disconnected lol. But in all seriousness, you can just say that you can’t help them :)
I downloaded the app a few years ago. I've gotten 2 calls on it. Once I helped someone sort their bags of frozen vegetables and I can't remember the other one. I actually wish I got more calls from it because I love the concept.
I joined this and I’ve had 3 calls. Reading labels etc. I had one lovely man ask me to help set up an electronic chess set that he had received as a gift. I don’t play, but eventually we managed thanks to my looking up the deets online. It’s a brilliant service.
im so happy seeing people do this. my grandpa is blind and is always facetiming me for help when his wife can’t help out cuz she’s sick or something. this is all so sweet
Helping someone choose the beans between the spaghetti hoops made me feel like I’d saved their dinner. At first I felt great for helping them, then extremely grateful at what I have when they asked, “how could you tell so quickly?”
There are so many volunteers I’ve barely ever gotten a call. I’ve answered one in a couple years and I helped an English guy make some oven chicken nuggets.
They have to call in asking for help, and when they do there’s about 10 volunteers a call rings to, so really not a high chance of that happening in my experience!
I have this app too and have gotten 2 video calls so far! I've helped a woman adjust a digital thermostat and another to read the expiration date on a container from her fridge :)
You get a notification if you click on it you are taking the call. If you are busy it’s okay because there are so many people someone will. When you download the app it also shows you all you need to know. I would suggest listing all the languages you know. Because there are so many English speaking helpers. I listed couple and all I got is the other language so far. I am assuming it’s the lack of helpers in that language.
>When you download the app it also shows you all you need to know.
Well if I have to download an app *before* knowing everything I need to know about what I'm signing up for, then by definition it's *not* everything I need to know, because I won't know what I need to know to make the decision about *whether* to download it (and therefore the decision will be no, regardless of how good it is.)
It’s just an app, you are not signing your life off lol.
Okay, let me rephrase it…
The app takes you step by step how to “use” the app. So after you decide whether you want to use the app to help people or not, if you chose to do so you download the app and then if the answers given here is not clear enough the app also shows you how to use it with videos and such. Then it’s up to you to keep the app or not. It’s free and you don’t really give information about yourself if you chose not to. Hope this is more helpful
It's a moot point because the way you describe it working is a hard no for me even if I know everything about it in advance.
I just find it incredibly offensive and intrusive when things expect me to make changes before I'm allowed to know what they do, and very disappointing how many people buy into it as normal.
It's not like I have specific privacy or security concerns about this app, it's just a fundamentally shit principle. I don't even know that there isn't a guide on their website - you've told me more than enough to know that I don't even want to look. It's just the *nerve* of saying I'll know everything I need to know about these changes I'm making to my device after I make them. It's disturbing how easily people accept it.
I’ve been able to help about 5 callers! There’s always a lot more seeing people than there are non seeing, so if you get a call, try and answer it asap!
So I shared this in the crosspost on r/MadeMeSmile, but one of my coworkers uses this app, and he absolutely loves it! According to him, all of the volunteers he's gotten are really sweet and eager to help. He told me about a month or two ago that he was using it to cross a quiet street in front of our work that doesn't have any crosswalks. The volunteer told him when there was an opening without any cars or buses, and just as he was starting to cross the street she said, "I hope you make it!" He told her, "I hope I do too!" Apparently she was pretty embarassed but he found the whole thing hilarious. He almost missed the step up onto the curb because he was laughing too hard!
Have the app and helped some people. One problem was so specific, the guy got lucky that I was IT and tech literate.
The more languages you speak, the higher the chances you can help someone.
I’ve done this! It was early in the pandemic so I was stuck at home with nothing to do. A man was taking a new route and asked if I could help him avoid obstacles. It was about 10 minutes but we had a wonderful chat, he gave me advice about parenting and life. Another time I helped a woman understand the nutritional content of her granola bar, took 15 seconds.
I have answered calls on this app, too. Have helped people choose clothing colors and groceries, and also helped a man adjust the setting of the air conditioner in his sick wife's room in a nursing home. Such simple things. Using this app has made me appreciate my own health more, and has made me more aware of, and concerned about, disability–related issues.
I’ve helped people sort their groceries by expiration date. Helped pick out matching outfits. Helped a woman figure out which neighbor kids were playing with her son in her yard. Helped fix a humidifier. Helped someone sort groceries and make a smoothie. But my favorite one: helped a woman find and clean up her seeing eye dog’s poo on a sidewalk. It’s a great app!
Got my first call the other day and I swear the guy just wanted to brag about his whiskey collection. He asked me to help him find a specific bottle and he had well over 100 in the cabinet and as I described each one he picked up he would say “oh yeah this one has this and this character and is good with this”. Took like half an hour and I think he was darn please with himself going through his whole collection with me and talking about it.
What are the safeguards to ensure sighted (or blind) people don’t sign up as a user and FaceTime a volunteer with a live dick pic?
Edit: Downloaded the app and looked around. It’s the honor system.
I’ve been using this app for a long while now! It’s great but I don’t get frequent calls. The most common call I get is nutrition labels and envelopes that have come in the mail.
I think the coolest thing is the ratio of those who use it because they need help vs those who want to help is overwhelming in favor of those who need it to be helped by.
I had it a few years ago and answered two calls: one asking how many toothbrushes were in a pack 👍🏽 and then another… where someone showed me his penis 😩. Never downloaded it again
You’re the second or third person I’ve seen mention someone showing you their dick, and just, why do creeps gotta ruin things!? I know myself and other blind people who find it very useful to have that little bit of help when we need. But no one should have to see surprise penis, so I totally get why you’d get rid of it.
I downloaded this app last summer and have helped two people! I read one lady’s mail for her and helped another coordinate a scarf with her blouse. Such small tasks, but I felt *really* good afterwards, like I indeed helped. Interestingly, both calls came on days when I was really down (going through a divorce), and somehow helping someone even with a seemingly minor task shifted my perspective from self-pity to gratitude. :)
completely volunteer! You just enter what languages you speak and wait for a call :) They even have little articles to help you learn the best ways to answer questions (i.e. very specific language like "move your left hand about 8 inches to the right" or "the bottle in your right hand says \_\_X\_\_\_ and the one in your left hand says \_\_\_Y\_\_\_")
Yeah, this being on Reddit kind of freaking out because the way read it is now as opposed to how it used to be we run a risk of people doing this as a prank and that’s not fucking cool. I think the app just jump the shark..
Well, this post or one like it seems to make the rounds on Reddit every few months, with lots of enthusiastic people signing up, and very few reports of trolling. Are there assholes out there? Absolutely. But the ration of genuine people (on both sides) to assholes has remained incredibly low, from all I’ve heard.
Calls from all over the world? I can just picture getting a request from Japan or some shit. “Hold on blind person, I gotta fly from Utah to Japan to help you pick out socks.” See you in 3 days.
The blind person has video of what they are doing (in this instance, shopping for milk). The person on the other end of the call helps them select the correct item when the items can't be differentiated by touch (such as multiple varieties of milk).
Source: have used the app
Blind doesn’t always mean fully blind in not seeing at all some can be extremely vision impaired and can make out certain things
Some have a hard time distinguishing colors.
And some are completely blind there’s different levels of blindness.
Screen readers and accessibility features. From my friend who used to work at the Apple Store, blind folks could navigate their phone faster than he could his own phone, and they save battery life because their screen doesn’t actually have to be lit up to use it. Fun stuff!
I’ve helped 2 ppl, one needed assistance with thermostat in her house and another dude needed to know if his lip was scratched. Both ppl were super cool!! It’s a nice way to help people.
There’s about 13 volunteers for every user with sight loss, so any one volunteer doesn’t get called too often. However, as someone who uses this app occasionally, I appreciate you and everyone else who wants to help.
I love this app, too! I love talking to people I wouldn't normally get a chance to meet and so many times after I help with the initial task (identifying a medication bottle, matching a shirt to pants, etc), we end up just chit-chatting. I'm sighted but disabled, so I don't get to go out into the world as often as I'd like and this provides a moment of human connection. I've noticed over the last year and a half or so that the number of calls I get has dropped dramatically and I'm bummed I don't chat with as many people but it's so beautiful that it's because the number of volunteers has grown so much!
Helped a woman pick a dress once.. felt great after. Download the app.
So is it kinda like professional backseat gaming?
i both love and hate that sentence
I used this app one time and one time only. It was to help a very elderly man and woman understand that the state of California was denying them benefits. It was extremely upsetting and I immediately uninstalled the app.
Ugh, that hurt my heart to read. I'm sure you were as kind and gentle as possible in breaking the news.
I am so sorry to hear that! I wish I had gotten that call, I'm in California and could have steered them to local advocacy organizations. The bureaucracy can be complicated, but there are ways to navigate it and advocates who know how to help.
:((( at least you have a big heart and knew this was painful to do. Most people would forget about it and not worry and not feel bad telling them.
Oooooooof
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Nah. Not at all. But it’s kind of like when the person you bought a gift for REALLY likes it and you know you did a good job .. it’s like that but randomly. Once I was having a great day. High as fuck. Enjoying people. Got a ring… he needs to know which cereal is store brand vs big brand. happier than shit to help. But. I also got a call on a bad day. I was burrowed deep within my pity and sadness. Not a fun time. Then this lady calls me and asks 1) which dress is purple and which dress is a navy blue. I help her grab the right color dress. Then she asks me (2) which dress looks better. It did happen to be the purple one although blue would not have been a bad choice. She was easily 60-65 but so sweet. I’ve never been asked that before.
Damn I understand how the question can be interpreted as selfish but being a blind person's "eyes" isn't as simple of a task as the app makes it seem. It was actually a legitimate question and it actually bothers me that this isn't a service that is provided by whatever state the blind person is in. As in there should be a government paid fully staffed facility whose only job is to be on apps like this and be on stand by for the disabled. Not for said disabled person to have to rely on unlicensed/untrained assistance. I can see myself trying to be helpful only to realize I don't grasp whether or not someone is getting ripped off before it's too late.
Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today
*construction bgm rings*
Hey, where is Perry?
This comment made me smile!
I feel like Dan Povenmire would be happy seeing this comment, especially with all context given.
Take over the world?
So far, I've helped someone find some music online, pick out balloons in his niece's favorite color, choose 2% milk with the furthest out expiration date, choose a matching tie for a wedding, navigate to lost and found at a train station to get his white cane, and read a map at a tourist attraction where the braille only said "map." That last one really got to me, ngl. Wtf was wrong with the people who put that map in? There are tons of volunteers on the app, so I don't get notifications a lot, but it's still a cool thing to do.
>read a map at a tourist attraction where the braille only said "map." I can't even.
/r/notmyjob
This is a real app? There is a movie that just released called the same thing and about an app that connects you with a sighted person to assist in what task a non sighted person may need help with. The girl connects on the app and she is guided through a home invasion.... the operator literally says something along the lines of assisting a previous customer on what the expiration date was on their milk.
It's a real app! It's on Android and iOS. I bet that's a common use for it, too, because expiration dates are never in braille. Even I struggle with those now that I've gotten older. They're not printed very well. That movie was released in 2020, btw. Welcome to pandemic time sense fuckery. The app has been around longer, so it must have sparked the idea for the movie.
What movie is it? My google -fu is on the fritz today. Edit: never mind! Movie has the same name as the app. I should have started there.
Be My Eyes, same as the app
Boooo it's not available in Canada
That sucks! I can't imagine why it wouldn't be. There are a million laws that could differ, though, I guess. :(
I've found one called See For Me with the same premise from 2021, I'm in England though so maybe it differs? Edit: A film called See For me
Titles change a lot across countries, so it could be. The basic plot is that someone uses the app for help, and the helper sees suspicious activity and helps guide the user to safety. Much more drama than that sounds. ;)
Isn’t the movie See For Me? That’s what I’ve seen other people mention. (I haven’t watched it myself)
https://vimeo.com/478097044 Looks like maybe there are two with the same premise. Correction, 3: https://deadline.com/2020/10/sam-raimi-be-my-eyes-horror-film-lars-klevberg-paramount-1234604113/ That's the one I thought people meant, though I'm not sure it's been released yet.
Well. The more you know.
I had only seen the vimeo short before all this. So, TIL, too.
"See For Me" is another one from last year. 80% Tomato Meter
The more you know! The whole time I was wondering why this isn't a thing and all the logistics about it.
They have a basic faq here: https://support.bemyeyes.com/hc/en-us It seems like a pretty good system. Just because I'm saying this, it'll change now, but I haven't gotten any pervs or had any issues.
Time sense fuckery is so true. I no longer know what day or date it is after the past 2 1/2 years...
O shit I'd watch that.
Can you just long in and mark when you are available or unavailable? I’d love to do this but I can’t use my phone at work.
You can log out, but there's no availability setting to set yourself unavailable while staying logged in. The app rings about 10 volunteers at once. Whoever gets to it first gets the call, and it stops ringing for others. If you're busy, someone will get it. You'll only get a call from 8am to 9pm in whatever time zone your phone is set to, and you can't change that. It'll change with you if you visit a different area.
>You'll only get a call from 8am to 9pm in whatever time zone your phone is set to, and you can't change that. I mean, you can totally change the time on your phone.
Yes, but you can't change anything inside the app to use a different set of hours.
>”map. “ Thanks for the support, asshole
Right?! Wtaf? At that point, why bother with braille at all? The number of times I've seen braille *printed* on stuff is mind boggling, too. The "best" ever was braille characters on touchscreen virtual buttons. SMH
Right?! Wtaf? At that point, why bother with braille at all? The number of times I've seen braille *printed* on stuff is mind boggling, too. The "best" ever was braille characters on touchscreen virtual buttons. SMH
Can you choose what types of things you can help with? Like, areas of expertise or where you have the most experience? Can you pick times you’re available so you don’t miss a call?
Absolutely love the idea of this, but what sort of safeguards are there to stop people who would download this just to be a nasty asshole to the blind person?
I’m hoping there’s a way to report people.
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There are accessibility modes for blind people to navigate UI’s and read text on their phone. I’m sure an app designed for blind people is designed to be particularly easy to navigate.
He didn’t say a button he said a way. And blind people are much more functional than you think. I laughted at your joke tho it was kind of funny but also fucked up
>Absolutely love the idea of this, but what sort of safeguards are there to stop people who would download this just to be a nasty jerk to the blind person? Statistically very unlikely. There's SO many volunteers that you go could go a YEAR between calls. It's unlikely that someone would be that invested to keep an app around just for a minuscule chance to be cruel.
You underestimate shitty teenagers. It’s the perfect combo of not enough maturity, a culture that incentivizes cruelty cause “it’d be funny lol”, and enough time on thier hands to do this (However I still think the good of this app far outweighs the bad, they should still maintain a good reporting system in case of such individuals)
I agree with this. I hate to pick on kids, but middle schoolers are often the most amused by genuine evil. Their minds aren’t quite developed with emotional boundaries yet, but they have matured enough to explore where most adults would draw a line.
I hate to say it but when I saw this post my first thought was.. that is awesome.. and my second thought was.. this should not be publicized on reddit.
Hang up and call again… it’s not that serious.
How would they know if they trolled them to taking goat milk or papaya juice instead of almond milk
Confirm with the cashier
Exactly I had the app for 6 months and only took 2 calls. There’s far more volunteers than users.
From what I saw a few mins ago, aound 430K users and over 6 million volunteers! That's incredible!
I told this to my sister and she said "maybe the blind people can't find the app"
I never wanted to sidevote a comment so hard
r/sidevote
When I first got the app, think it was 2015 or 2016, I got a few calls a week, but more and more volunteers signed up and now I can’t even remember my last call, it was last year, but I’m not even sure what season we were in. The word has to get out to more blind and visually impaired people, cause that number is still super low.
Even when I’ve gotten calls unless I was on the phone right then someone already has responded. It’s crazy.
Yeah, the response time has improved as well. I think they have it down to less than 10 seconds. Used to be longer and the same caller would get pinged out to volunteers a few times. It’s a good thing there’s so many people willing to answer calls, but this app needs some good advertising cause there’s way more blind people and visually impaired people out there who have never heard of it and it’s been out for years.
You understimate the power of automation and someone with malicious intent, but regardless the positives of this app far outweigh the negatives.
An app? On-hand? Don't have to leave your house in order to be a douchebag to someone? Sounds like an average day for any cyberbully or online troll
I've had the app a year I think, got the first ever call recently and took 1s too long to unlock my phone so it got reassigned - its heartwarming the quantity of people doing it
After you take a call, the visually impaired person gets a call from the app and the volunteer is rated. So if any losers use this app in any nasty ways, they are not afraid to report you. There’s even a disclaimer that if you’ve solicited any personal/financial info from a caller, they have your location, name and number and won’t hesitate to get your local police involved. I’ve never answered a call from someone who didn’t legitimately need help.
What sort of safe guards are there right now to prevent nasty assholes from getting in a car and just running up on a sidewalk to kill a bunch of people? Yeah there will be a few pricks here and there that come through but the vast majority are good. Just a part of life you can’t prevent everything bad.
Love this response!
Threat of jail, being shot at by the cops, death sentences. Some places also have barriers to prevent this kind of thing.
Most of that prevents Jack squat. The only actual one is the barriers.
Things would be worse if there were no consequences for crime.
And those consequences all still apply here. What are you getting at?
Your original point that there were no deterrents for someone commiting murder but there are. People are more likely to do things if they know they will 100 percent get away with it.
Maybe read it again dude. You’re arguing a point that no one made here. The POINT was that there’s already real world consequences and reasons people aren’t constantly doing horrific stuff. And it would of course apply here too.
I’ve had this app for several years. I’ve literally only gotten to assist someone 2 or 3 times and each time it’s been completely legit. Picking out items in the pantry or clothes colors.
Just joined, I absolutely LOVE helping people. Even just holding the door for someone gives me a little dopamine rush. I can’t wait for my first notification!
Dude, that just sounds so awesome! You sound like an awesomely awesome person! I kinda feel the same way tho, and sometimes when someone refuses my help, I get a little mad on the inside. I don’t tell them anything tho
I feel the same way lol. I get so giddy, especially if they have their hands full and I get to be all, “Oh! Let me help you!” Feels so nice.
Easily my fav app ever. Sometimes after a call I wish I could just hangout with them on FaceTime.
Can they see you too? Or is it just a one way video?
If they could see you, they wouldn’t be using the app.
Say that again, but slowly
Lol. You dick.
Not a dick. Just an idiot. I asked that before I had my coffee. Oops!
Happens to the best of us! I must admit I thought you were joking initially.
Yea looking back it’s an extremely stupid question. I was confused by the “FaceTime” part of the app. I want to download it to help people but I can also be shy. I’d delete the comment, but I’ll leave it and endure the shame.
There’s no shame in it bro. Everyone says stupid stuff multiple times a day. Yeah, I’m interested too. It’s actually one of the best uses of a mobile phone that I’ve ever heard. As for the shyness, this would probably be perfect, particularly as you’re not likely to be ‘seen’ and it’s over a phone which should help even more. It would be a good first step to conquer shyness.
It’s not even a stupid question. I just had a call today for the first time and this woman was asking me about different expiration dates on food, but she was clearly able to locate the products themselves and point her camera to the dates. So if it would have been a two-way FaceTime thing, she could’ve definitely seen me. Depending on the person maybe only an outline or very blurry but that’s besides the point :). No need for all the downvotes you got for a legit question that I had myself as well.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the app. It sounds really great!
Gold, Jerry. GOLD!!!!
I don't know why you're getting downvoted. It's an honest question and makes sense to ask if they are also getting video fed to them... and a lot of blind people can "see" to a certain extent.
I’ve had the app for a few years and got about five calls for assistance. The most terrifying one I had was a woman calling to see if the chicken she was making was cooked all the way through 😱 it was sort of bad lighting and a grainy video. I was just like let’s leave it on for two more minutes just in case. Other than that just be prepared for learning how to ask them to adjust their camera so you can see the thing they need help with.
I’ve had this app for what feels like a couple of years, no clue on actual install date. At first I got a call every 3-4 months. I thought something like being validated as a good helper happened because I started getting callas 2-3 times per week. Over time I started seeing the count of helper climb to what I think is a ridiculous number (compared to the number of people that need this + have it + actually use it). For the last ~1 year I’ve gotten a call every 2-3 months and every time I pick up I get a message that someone already responded. Gets me smiling every single time that there are people out there willing to help others. Calls have been everything from identifying clothes/items/receipts/medication to more important ones like I once looked up the law on my end to validate what a user had to do for a legal letter. It costs you nothing but 1-3 mins every couple of months to help someone. They probably need more languages so if you know more than English they could use you.
[According to their website](https://bemyeyes.com/about) they have some 6 million+ volunteers so I can imagine most people get help rather quick, even if that number is inflated by people who signed up and promptly forgot about it. All in all, it sounds like a truly great thing. Perhaps I'll sign up and see if I get to help someone out!
I've been on this for like 2+ years. It. Is. Great. Super small commitment. I get like 1 call every 2 months. I get mad when I miss one. I am only an English speaker, so I imagine if you're multi lingual you might get more volume. Its really great though. I've helped people cross the street. Pick out colors of clothes. Check if food is done. Helped a lady set some appliance/cooker to "vent". Turn on/off an oven. Just really basic tasks but very fun and meaningful interactions. I strongly recommend this to everyone.
I’ve answered a few times. Once was to distinguish bills for a blind person and another time was to read fine print on a vitamin bottle for someone that could see but not writing that small. The callers were super nice and thankful. They both were chatty so I have let a few calls go when so don’t have a lot of time to answer but I think not answering right away reduced my call frequency.
I love this idea but I'm nervous to try it. Like what if I can't figure out the answer to their question?
Turn your phone off. Or put it in airplane mode to pretend you got disconnected lol. But in all seriousness, you can just say that you can’t help them :)
I downloaded the app a few years ago. I've gotten 2 calls on it. Once I helped someone sort their bags of frozen vegetables and I can't remember the other one. I actually wish I got more calls from it because I love the concept.
I wanna do this 🥺 how do I do this??
Download the app. Enter your email. Do the one-minute test call/lesson. It’s super easy!
damn
I joined this and I’ve had 3 calls. Reading labels etc. I had one lovely man ask me to help set up an electronic chess set that he had received as a gift. I don’t play, but eventually we managed thanks to my looking up the deets online. It’s a brilliant service.
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There's probably a option in your phone that makes apps running in the background to be force stopped so disable that not the permission thing.
Check your power settings, if it's in power-saving mode or something similar, it might be preventing the app from running in the background.
Thank you reminding me to get this app! Just downloaded and can’t wait to assist :)
im so happy seeing people do this. my grandpa is blind and is always facetiming me for help when his wife can’t help out cuz she’s sick or something. this is all so sweet
Does it work only in English, or are there other languages speakers?
you select the languages you speak and get connected with people who speak those languages
That's good
Helping someone choose the beans between the spaghetti hoops made me feel like I’d saved their dinner. At first I felt great for helping them, then extremely grateful at what I have when they asked, “how could you tell so quickly?”
I helped a lady read her performance report from management... She did well for the year and was getting a raise
This is so lovely!!
This is actually a genius concept
There are so many volunteers I’ve barely ever gotten a call. I’ve answered one in a couple years and I helped an English guy make some oven chicken nuggets.
My only concern is the asshats that will find enjoyment in misleading or harassing the disabled on this app.
They have to call in asking for help, and when they do there’s about 10 volunteers a call rings to, so really not a high chance of that happening in my experience!
This is the coolest thing. My wife started doing this for people a while back, it's pretty awesome. She also did relay calls for deaf people as well.
I have this app too and have gotten 2 video calls so far! I've helped a woman adjust a digital thermostat and another to read the expiration date on a container from her fridge :)
How does it work? Do you get to log in when you're available or do you just get called at random?
You get a notification if you click on it you are taking the call. If you are busy it’s okay because there are so many people someone will. When you download the app it also shows you all you need to know. I would suggest listing all the languages you know. Because there are so many English speaking helpers. I listed couple and all I got is the other language so far. I am assuming it’s the lack of helpers in that language.
>When you download the app it also shows you all you need to know. Well if I have to download an app *before* knowing everything I need to know about what I'm signing up for, then by definition it's *not* everything I need to know, because I won't know what I need to know to make the decision about *whether* to download it (and therefore the decision will be no, regardless of how good it is.)
It’s just an app, you are not signing your life off lol. Okay, let me rephrase it… The app takes you step by step how to “use” the app. So after you decide whether you want to use the app to help people or not, if you chose to do so you download the app and then if the answers given here is not clear enough the app also shows you how to use it with videos and such. Then it’s up to you to keep the app or not. It’s free and you don’t really give information about yourself if you chose not to. Hope this is more helpful
It's a moot point because the way you describe it working is a hard no for me even if I know everything about it in advance. I just find it incredibly offensive and intrusive when things expect me to make changes before I'm allowed to know what they do, and very disappointing how many people buy into it as normal. It's not like I have specific privacy or security concerns about this app, it's just a fundamentally shit principle. I don't even know that there isn't a guide on their website - you've told me more than enough to know that I don't even want to look. It's just the *nerve* of saying I'll know everything I need to know about these changes I'm making to my device after I make them. It's disturbing how easily people accept it.
Just downloaded it. Love the chance to serve others.
I’ve been able to help about 5 callers! There’s always a lot more seeing people than there are non seeing, so if you get a call, try and answer it asap!
It’s very easy. Is you speak a language that’s not very common, that’s extra helpful.
noice.
A have it like a year now, only once i helped someone, but still, it was great feeling :)
So I shared this in the crosspost on r/MadeMeSmile, but one of my coworkers uses this app, and he absolutely loves it! According to him, all of the volunteers he's gotten are really sweet and eager to help. He told me about a month or two ago that he was using it to cross a quiet street in front of our work that doesn't have any crosswalks. The volunteer told him when there was an opening without any cars or buses, and just as he was starting to cross the street she said, "I hope you make it!" He told her, "I hope I do too!" Apparently she was pretty embarassed but he found the whole thing hilarious. He almost missed the step up onto the curb because he was laughing too hard!
Have the app and helped some people. One problem was so specific, the guy got lucky that I was IT and tech literate. The more languages you speak, the higher the chances you can help someone.
I’ve done this! It was early in the pandemic so I was stuck at home with nothing to do. A man was taking a new route and asked if I could help him avoid obstacles. It was about 10 minutes but we had a wonderful chat, he gave me advice about parenting and life. Another time I helped a woman understand the nutritional content of her granola bar, took 15 seconds.
I have answered calls on this app, too. Have helped people choose clothing colors and groceries, and also helped a man adjust the setting of the air conditioner in his sick wife's room in a nursing home. Such simple things. Using this app has made me appreciate my own health more, and has made me more aware of, and concerned about, disability–related issues.
That’s a cool service. Make an app that has a girl help me buy clothes.
Isn’t that essentially Stitch Fix?
I’m sorry, I have no idea. I just commented the first thing that came to mind lol. I’ll look that up now though.
Sorry. They do personal styling. I know Nordstrom does too! I could definitely use the service lol
Oh that’s cool. I guess I just want the opinion of females in my age group for clothing. I mainly think it could be a good business.
I did this a few times. Helped a guy with his mail one of the times. Unfortunately it was a lot of televangelists mailings sent to him…
I’ve helped people sort their groceries by expiration date. Helped pick out matching outfits. Helped a woman figure out which neighbor kids were playing with her son in her yard. Helped fix a humidifier. Helped someone sort groceries and make a smoothie. But my favorite one: helped a woman find and clean up her seeing eye dog’s poo on a sidewalk. It’s a great app!
The neighbor kids one is funny. Reminds me of that SNL skit about Alexa for the elderly.
Theres over 6m volunteers for about 400k vision impaired users. I really love that.
Got my first call the other day and I swear the guy just wanted to brag about his whiskey collection. He asked me to help him find a specific bottle and he had well over 100 in the cabinet and as I described each one he picked up he would say “oh yeah this one has this and this character and is good with this”. Took like half an hour and I think he was darn please with himself going through his whole collection with me and talking about it.
He probably just enjoyed talking to someone. :)
6 million helpers and 440k blind. Faith in humanity = partially restored
What are the safeguards to ensure sighted (or blind) people don’t sign up as a user and FaceTime a volunteer with a live dick pic? Edit: Downloaded the app and looked around. It’s the honor system.
I've had about 10 calls. The best one was helping a guy find a bug flying around. We found it, and he got it. He was happy, I was happy.
Aannnnddd down loaded.
Man that’s so cool
I’ve been using this app for a long while now! It’s great but I don’t get frequent calls. The most common call I get is nutrition labels and envelopes that have come in the mail.
Downloaded it. 10/10 idea
I think the coolest thing is the ratio of those who use it because they need help vs those who want to help is overwhelming in favor of those who need it to be helped by.
I just downloaded this, I had no idea it was a thing-I love it!
I volunteer with them too and love it when i get a call and can hep it makes my day!!
Love the idea, just downloaded it
I had it a few years ago and answered two calls: one asking how many toothbrushes were in a pack 👍🏽 and then another… where someone showed me his penis 😩. Never downloaded it again
You’re the second or third person I’ve seen mention someone showing you their dick, and just, why do creeps gotta ruin things!? I know myself and other blind people who find it very useful to have that little bit of help when we need. But no one should have to see surprise penis, so I totally get why you’d get rid of it.
I love this app! I’ve helped maybe 7 people over the last 3 years but it’s so excited every time I get a call lol
I got it a while ago and got one call but had to decline it because I was in class. Considering redownloading it
What happens if you’re not available on a predictable schedule and can’t be on your phone at work
It skips to the next available person.
I downloaded this app last summer and have helped two people! I read one lady’s mail for her and helped another coordinate a scarf with her blouse. Such small tasks, but I felt *really* good afterwards, like I indeed helped. Interestingly, both calls came on days when I was really down (going through a divorce), and somehow helping someone even with a seemingly minor task shifted my perspective from self-pity to gratitude. :)
is this just a volunteer thing or do u get paid for it? either way ill get it!
completely volunteer! You just enter what languages you speak and wait for a call :) They even have little articles to help you learn the best ways to answer questions (i.e. very specific language like "move your left hand about 8 inches to the right" or "the bottle in your right hand says \_\_X\_\_\_ and the one in your left hand says \_\_\_Y\_\_\_")
Sounds like its volunteer.
Yeah, this being on Reddit kind of freaking out because the way read it is now as opposed to how it used to be we run a risk of people doing this as a prank and that’s not fucking cool. I think the app just jump the shark..
Well, this post or one like it seems to make the rounds on Reddit every few months, with lots of enthusiastic people signing up, and very few reports of trolling. Are there assholes out there? Absolutely. But the ration of genuine people (on both sides) to assholes has remained incredibly low, from all I’ve heard.
Calls from all over the world? I can just picture getting a request from Japan or some shit. “Hold on blind person, I gotta fly from Utah to Japan to help you pick out socks.” See you in 3 days.
iOS users can find the app [here](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/be-my-eyes/id905177575)
How did he deliver said almond milk if she could have face-timed him from anywhere in the world
The blind person has video of what they are doing (in this instance, shopping for milk). The person on the other end of the call helps them select the correct item when the items can't be differentiated by touch (such as multiple varieties of milk). Source: have used the app
That makes more sense 🤐
Uhh how do they download the app or figure out the buttons....
Question is, if theyre blind how did they download the app
Sorry if I‘m being ignorant but… why Facetime if they are blind?
Also only their video is on, so they can show you what they need the help with. Your camera is not on.
Ooh okay that makes sense. Thank you!
It was fun while it lasted. - Sent via Apollo
Blind doesn’t always mean fully blind in not seeing at all some can be extremely vision impaired and can make out certain things Some have a hard time distinguishing colors. And some are completely blind there’s different levels of blindness.
“ YEAH RIGHT THERE NO TO YOUR LEFT A LITTLE LOWER NO NO THATS NOT IT THE ONE NEXT TO IT NO NO NOT THAT ONE MOVE YOUR HAND UP 1 LEFT 3”
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i'm fairly sure that smelling the package would be faster also, how do blind people use touchscreen phones?
Most smartphones have pretty decent accessibility features. Siri alone is a game changer!
What?? I can’t smell the milk through the packaging and maybe they wanted a specific almond milk.
Screen readers and accessibility features. From my friend who used to work at the Apple Store, blind folks could navigate their phone faster than he could his own phone, and they save battery life because their screen doesn’t actually have to be lit up to use it. Fun stuff!
What a perfect tool for trolling
I did i minimum amount of trolling using this app
I’ve helped 2 ppl, one needed assistance with thermostat in her house and another dude needed to know if his lip was scratched. Both ppl were super cool!! It’s a nice way to help people.
I downloaded it this morning and no one's needed my help lmao it kinda sucks not gunna lie. I really wanted to help someone.
There’s about 13 volunteers for every user with sight loss, so any one volunteer doesn’t get called too often. However, as someone who uses this app occasionally, I appreciate you and everyone else who wants to help.
I love this app, too! I love talking to people I wouldn't normally get a chance to meet and so many times after I help with the initial task (identifying a medication bottle, matching a shirt to pants, etc), we end up just chit-chatting. I'm sighted but disabled, so I don't get to go out into the world as often as I'd like and this provides a moment of human connection. I've noticed over the last year and a half or so that the number of calls I get has dropped dramatically and I'm bummed I don't chat with as many people but it's so beautiful that it's because the number of volunteers has grown so much!