What you need to know
- Google has decided to kill Neighbourly – an experimental app that it first launched in May 2018.
- The search giant says the app hasn't grown as it had hoped, which is why it has decided to close Neighbourly beta.
- The app will shut down on May 12, although users will be allowed to download their Neighbourly content until October 12.
In May 2018, Google introduced a new experimental app as part of its Next Billion Initiative, called Neighbourly. The app was aimed at helping local communities within cities in India to learn more about their neighborhoods from local experts. Unfortunately, however, the app never came out of beta.
As the app has failed to grow as it had hoped, Google has now decided to shut down Neighboutly beta. According to a report from TNW, the app is shutting down on May 12. However, users will be able to download a copy of their Neighbourly data until October 12. To download the data, users will need to head over to the Google Takeout website.
Google's announcement comes just two days after Facebook rolled out Community Help, aimed at helping people request or offer help to neighbors during the coronavirus pandemic. The feature is currently live for Facebook users in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada, and France.
In an email sent to Neighbourly beta users, Google has encouraged them to turn to Maps Local Guide, which also lets people share their knowledge with local communities. The email also notes that the Neighbourly community answered over a million questions, helping users source local information.
