For years the relentless onslaught of social media has been integrating our real lives with our online lives, and despite the benefits this can bring, in an increasingly connected world, it's becoming harder and harder to keep private matters private, even in a sprawling, otherwise faceless metropolis.
Well, fear not, because now the former creative director of Buzzfeed, Chris Barker, has built the world's first ever anti-social network. Dubbed "incognito mode for real life," Cloak, now available on iOS, skims GPS-enabled social networks to locate all of your buddies, specifically so you can tactically avoid all those pesky friends, or anyone else for that matter.
Although Cloak seems to have its tongue firmly planted in cheek, it does raise questions about the pervasive nature of social data. Millions upon millions of smartphones on our person create a constantly connected grid, and opting out can be more difficult than you might think.
Cloak is reminiscent of Hell Is Other People - which similarly collects data from Foursquare and informs the user how to best avoid them.