Wakie App (iOS/Android/Windows): Rise and Shine, Stranger

Waking up is hard to do.

Although a lot of us have work or school to get to in the morning, the process of waking up can be aggravating and tedious. Barring the fact that most people are tired right after they rise, performing the same tasks over and over can lead to monotony, which leads to a number of other unpleasant emotions. Part of that routine is using the same alarm over and over, but the Wakie app seems to have a solution to that problem.

The gist is that anyone in the world can help you rise by way of a wake-up call. If you’ve ever ordered one in a hotel before you’ll know what to expect. You’ll set a time, someone will call, and you’ll have a more pleasant experience than a beeping alarm. Just as the app advertises, it’s a “social alarm clock,” and the implications may be too personal for a lot of you out there.

Right off the bat the app requires you to link your Facebook account or give them your actual telephone number. I’m probably correct in assuming that a lot of you will say “nope” right there and then, stopping at the intro screen. That’s a fair path to take, because giving a company your phone number in this day and age where no data is safe is fairly risky. Linking your Facebook profile is another risk entirely—these are sadly the only two options.

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If you do decide to take a leap of faith though the app is anonymous, and it won’t list or show your phone number to those who do wake you up. I’ve had a few fun instances of being woken up to someone singing a song, and in one case I was too tired to thank them, but the other call graciously accepted. My wake-up calls tended to be pretty boring and I quickly ended the call, but more social people will likely enjoy the opportunity to chat with strangers with implicit permission. There’s also a forum for missed connections if you’re so inclined, but this feature needs to be expanded upon further to really drive the social point home.

The idea is that if someone wakes you up and has a small conversation you’ll be more inclined to actually get up and not hit the snooze button. It’s a neat idea, and security concerns aside, it does work as advertised. Provided that Wakie’s database isn’t hacked anytime soon I’ll probably use the service on days where I need to get up immediately on a schedule. There’s just one issue at the moment—if no one picks up, it goes to voicemail—not really the intended design. If you want to spring for the premium version you’ll be able to talk for up to five minutes.

While Wakie isn’t a life-changing app it does come in handy on special days, and the idea of agreeing to give your masked number to strangers is interesting. With a few more bells and whistles it could be something I’ll use more often.

Wakie is an iOS/Android/Windows app that can be downloaded for free in the iTunes App Store, Google Play Store, and Windows Store.