iHobo: The Most Downloaded Charity App Ever?

May 20, 2010 - PRLog -- May 20, London: Publicis London and Depaul UK today announce that more than 210,000 iHobo apps for the iPhone have been downloaded.

The app, which reached the number one spot on May 15 and 100,000 downloads just five days after launching. However, the enormous popularity of the app means that some people have been unable to download and use iHobo properly. The Society Guardian notes that it is “probably the most successful charity download ever”.

The sheer volume of traffic on the server is to blame and Publicis London, Depaul UK and its partners have been working round the clock to solve the issue, with a fix imminent. So many people have been using the app that no single server was big enough to keep up with it.  

A spokesman says: “We are delighted that so many people have chosen to download the app and are joining the debate around the very real issues that young homeless people face. However, we’re sorry that some people have been unable to experience the full interactivity that iHobo offers. Quite simply, creating such a ground-breaking app has been a learning curve all-round. To anyone whose experience of iHobo has been spoilt by notifications not working as they should, we would urge that they keep on trying. It’s a really worthwhile app with a very powerful message.”

Over three days iHobo is the iPhone user’s responsibility with every decision made – such as offering food, money or emotional support – impacting on his life. It uses Apple’s most recent Push Notification technology to send alerts to the user when iHobo needs help. The sheer number of users, however, has led to some alerts not being sent, which has caused concern to some users.

The app intends to raise awareness of youth homelessness and reach out to a new younger audience has attracted international attention for its brave and engaging approach to charity marketing.

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