Geolocation (or, where in the world AM I?)

Recently, many of you participated in our "1000 Cups of Coffee" product launch (for those who didn't hear about it, we offered to buy 1000 cups of coffee for shoppers in order to get you to try out Insta-Shops - the project is over, but you can see a video about it at http://insta.prestomobilesurveys.com/site/ShopperWelcome).

For the large majority of our Insta-Shoppers, everything was smooth sailing!  Shops were easy to find and quick to complete (and hey, how about those super-fast payments?  Could you get used to that?)  But some shoppers had problems verifying their location, and found themselves unable to complete the shop.  "The Presto app isn't working!" you told us.  "I'm RIGHT THERE, why can't the app find my location?"




So, we'd like to explain what causes the problems, and what we're going to do about this in the future.  First, though, we need to sort out one thing about Presto Insta-Shops:

It's not an app.

("what?")

It isn't.  Remember how you found your Presto Insta-Shop?  You didn't install an app on your phone, or any software on your computer.  Instead, you used software that was already there (your web browser) and went to http://prestomap.com.  To be technical, Presto is a website that is formatted to look like an app.  It uses your web browser app (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, whatever you normally use on your device) to run software on a website.  That website and software is Presto.

Who cares if it's an app or not?

Here's the deal: when it comes to finding your location, apps have some serious advantages over using a browser.  Specifically:

• App permissions let them get a better location. You know how you're asked for permissions anytime you install an app on your phone?  Some of those permissions have to do with location services.  If you write an app that depends on precisely locating someone, you ask for those permissions when the app is installed.  Web browsers like Chrome and Safari are more general-purpose, so they don't ask for any location permissions -- we have to ask you if you're willing to share your location once you access the Presto Map.  
• A browser doesn't let us choose how to get your location.  Depending on the type of device you're using, there are several ways to get your location (IP address or Google location services for a computer; WiFi, cell tower triangulation or GPS for a smartphone).  Once you grant permission to share your location, the browser makes all the decisions about what method is used.  Presto can (and does) request a high accuracy position, but it's a crapshoot whether we'll get one.  With an app, we would have full control over the method used and could always use the most accurate method.

Why didn't you just make an app, then?

We're going to!  An app is part of our development plans, and we expect this to solve a lot of the geolocation problems (there will always be some situations where we can't do anything -- if we can't get a GPS fix, a cell signal or a WiFi signal, we're just out of luck).  We'll probably always offer the option of using a browser, because we want to make it easy for casual shoppers and first-timers to try out Presto Insta-Shops (hey, if we'd told you that you had to install an app before you could even see the available coffee shops, would you have bothered?)  But an app is definitely in the plans.

In the meantime, here's what we're going to do to make things better:

• GeoVerify: if you've already used our GeoVerify app (available for Android and iOS), you know that it can be used to get a GeoVerify code when doing mystery shops.  Soon you'll also be able to plug GeoVerify codes into Presto, for situations where you can't get a good enough location through the browser (remember, GeoVerify IS an app, so it can get a better location fix).  
• Special warnings for shops that require you to be nearby: in this case, we'll always check your location before you can claim the shop.  If we can't detect that you're nearby, we'll require you to agree that you understand you must verify your location before you can do the shop.  

But all that said, in the "1000 Cups of Coffee" project we had 1020 geoverified shops sail through in 2 days, and it's only going to be better from here!  Keep watching -- we'll be bringing you more Presto Insta-Shops soon!