'Red Alert Israel' Will Send a 'Yo' for Every Predicted Rocket Attack
The "Yo" app is being used to alert followers of the user "RedAlertIsrael" every time a rocket attack is predicted within Israeli territory.
The app, which has raised millions of dollars of funding, has been called everything from pointless to amazing for its simple premise - allowing users to send a "yo" to friends with just one tap.
While a simple "yo" provides virtually no context, the app has been harnessed as a way to provide interested people around the world an idea of what is happening on the ground in Israel.
Yep" @mdavep: Another one of those days… pic.twitter.com/ZfMQEiLpcu"
- Ari Sprung (@AriSprung) July 9, 2014
The new use for the "Yo" app - which shows a barrage of reported rocket attacks - is meant to complement the existing Red Alert Israel app developed by Ari Sprung and Kobi Snir, according to the Times of Israel.
The "Red Alert Israel" app sounds an alarm on users' smartphones every time rockets, mortars and missiles are fired into Israel. Each alert also specifies what area is believed to be at risk.
The English version of the app, which was released June 29, has a five-star rating in the App store, where users called it "annoying because it goes off so often" but praised it for providing a way people abroad "can better understand the horror of the situation."