Be My Eyes

Kyle Lowry

3 years ago

Really great idea but the app doesn't really work. I've gotten maybe 5 calls. One I was able to help in spite of really poor video quality. One I just couldn't help because the video was so bad. The other three I tried to answer but we never got connected. I just sat there waiting and nothing ever happened. And then the feedback feature in the app doesn't work, so I hope they read these.

Yara Khatib

3 years ago

Amazing idea but the app has some bugs and technical issues. The camera quality is not good enough to help with tasks such as assistance in reading. I also recommend that a sighted person help set up the initial placement of the camera and place some sort of indicator that the callers use to know where to place a document (for assistance in reading mail, for example) so that it can be of a legible distance and position from the camera.

Eric Ramseur

3 years ago

Edit: I'm lowering my review as nothing seems to have changed. Now I can't even hear anyone, much less assist. I downloaded the app yesterday and got my first call today. I was super excited to help. For two minutes straight I could barely hear the person and got a "trying to connect call" message. I walked outside and disconnected from my wifi thinking that might be the issue. It felt terrible not being able to help someone when they called. I look forward to changing this review to a 5 star.

kmodine

1 year ago

This app is such a fantastic concept, and I was really excited to be a part of this exciting work. Unfortunately, shortly after installing this app, my phone started overheating all the time, freezing, locking, and becoming unresponsive to touch. I thought I needed a new phone, but then I remembered I had recently installed a new app. I uninstalled and all of the performance issues with my phone resolved. I'm super bummed because this is such an incredible idea.

A Google user

6 years ago

This app is really cool. It's always good to use technology for helping others. Below are some suggestions from me (not sure if y'all already implemented it or not): 1. Rating system of the helpers. The goal is just to avoid crazy ppl trying to trap or do any non beneficial things to the blind people. 2. Maybe the app can also connect blind people to their nearest people around them. That way, if they need a direction, someone nearby can easily help navigating it.

William Sallander

1 year ago

I have used the app on my iOS device for quite a while and I found it to be quite useful. I've just now started using the AI feature which is very interesting and seems to be quite accurate. I'm waiting for the AI feature to become available on my Android device as well. The only suggestion I would have is to see if the button to take a picture can be switched or at least modify to work from the volume buttons, therefore minimizing the movement of the device as you're taking the picture.

Ems Niejadlik

3 years ago

Great app, here's a tip: I've had the app for over a year and I just found that on Android devices your permissions can be removed from the app if it's not opened every few months. To get around this go into your settings and go to the Be My Eyes app settings, there should be a section for Permissions. Click that and make sure to turn off "remove permissions if app isn't used". This was causing my connection errors and was not allowing me to connect with calls. Hopes this helps!

Sandeep Tripathy

2 years ago

The camera controls are terrible. As a helper, I often struggle to read anything because of two things that the requestor has no control over - focus and brightness. Screens and paper documents are often all white and on those rare instances that it is properly illuminated, the focus going in and out makes reading very difficult or impossible. Allowing remote brightness and focus would be an excellent solution. Cheers for an otherwise great aid

Justin Halbrook

3 years ago

I've been a helper since 2018, but unfortunately had not been able to answer many calls. Today while reactivating the app on my new phone I immediately received a call. The video and audio quality isn't amazing (could have been the cell network) but with careful communication we were able to successfully get what we needed done. Complaints on quality cannot be immediately blamed on the app, as different areas have different service speeds and qualities.

Kimberley Morrow

3 years ago

Signed up to help around 2 years ago. Have received around 7 calls. 2 of which I did not get to in time. Great experience thus far. Hardest was assisting someone to find an email on their computer. The audio was great but the video quality made it very difficult to read their device screen. The number of volunteers far outweigh the number of clients. But it is a thrill to get the alert and have the opportunity to assist.

Aixa Raquel

3 years ago

I so love the principle and the idea behind this app. I keep it to assist others when in need. Nonetheless, I can hardly ever answer calls because the button to do so is unresponsive when tapped. Just today, after years of being registered and available in the app, I was able to answer a call but then the audio was so incredibly faint that I had to end up guessing what the person needed and what they were saying. Please evaluate these issues as possible bugs to fix or enhancements to consider.

Manny Islam

2 years ago

Feedback doesn't work. Had my first call helping someone; the video quality was too blurry for me to help, so I tried voting Thumbs Down at the end of the call for feedback but nothing happens. However, the Thumbs Up button was working. After the call, I went into Settings then tried pressing "Send us feedback", but that didn't work either. How do you expect to improve when you're not willing to receive negative feedback? For such a simple app, there's no excuse to not have its features tested.

A Walker

2 years ago

I love that there is an app that allows me to offer help to those who are visually impaired. However, the feedback and the "problems" button at the end of a call do not work so I can not provide feedback when I've had any issues. I had to resort to posting this in hopes the creators/maintainers see this and can help fix it. Other than this, the appa is amazing. The only other thing that could make it more amazing is if they tracked the calls I've taken, but that's an "if you can" ask.

Melissa Merrell

1 year ago

I had no issues since this last review until now. Latest update on my Samsung now has notifications from be my eyes blocked in the app settings. It is grayed out and won't let me allow notifications. I'm so BUMMED! I LOVE the concept of this app. However, the last two times I got a call and went to answer it froze. Please fix it. I really love the app and want to be able to answer the calls. The first time worked perfectly, but not the last two.

Renee

1 year ago

This app just keeps getting better and better. First it was a free app that used volunteers to give you assistance. Then it added the specialized help section where you can directly connect with accessibility experts for different technical tools and other things and advocacy groups. Then they added be my AI which is just phenomenal and does a better job of describing images than all of the other apps that I have. Then they added my groups where you can have your own personal groups of people!!

Miriam Carey

1 year ago

I am losing my central vision and even though I don't use this app a lot, when I do it really saves me. Like the night I was on a train platform in a very lonely area of Chicago, I'll be my eyes volunteer was able to read the platform sign to let me know the train was almost there. Amazing that people will volunteer to pick up the phone and talk to a perfect stranger to help them do a small task that means everything. Love the new groups feature!

Juan Collazo

1 year ago

A few tips for my fellow helpers- -When you are getting a call, tap the green "answer call" button rapidly, and it will pick it up quicker and easier than if you only tapped once. -If you are having trouble with clarity of text or pixilated video, use the camera feature in the lower left-hand corner to take a picture of the item, and all the text will be perfectly clear! What an amazingly helpful app!