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A patent for it slipped out last year, but a new leak has shed some more light on Apple’s forthcoming social network. And the good news? Looks like it’ll be baked right into iOS 5.
New HTML code in the MobileMe/iCloud website shows some more details on the service, known as Find My Friends, CNET News reports. Using phrases such as ‘People I am following’, ‘Followers’, ‘Status’, and ‘Unblock new follow requests’, it sounds remarkably similar to Twitter (which will also come integrated straight into iOS 5).
It’s thought all you’d need to do is select a contact from your phonebook and press a button to request their location, kind of like the FlareGun! app. Simple for arranging after-work drinks.
It also integrates with the Photo Stream service found in iOS 5 and iCloud, so your photos could well be shown right on your Find My Friends profile, just like Facebook. Videos look to get the same treatment. Great for sharing your latest cinematic masterpiece, not so great if you’ve been filmed acting like a berk.
A source revealed that Find My Friends had been an on/off project, and the last word was Apple had shelved it. But this new HTML code changes all that.
With Apple’s already huge user base, Find My Friends could be a real competitor to Facebook, wiping the social networking slate clean for the company, and ridding memories of Ping, much in the way Google+ has of Buzz and Wave.
And with Amazon’s recent revamp to integrate social networking aspects, it’s clear these companies are starting to sit up and take notice of the phenomenon.
What would you like to see in an Apple social network? Let us know on our Facebook page or the comments section below.
