2018 will be a year that we’ll definitely remember at Be My Eyes! During the year, we have released new features and created valuable partnerships - allowing us to help even more blind and low-vision individuals worldwide. Here’s a look at some of our highlights from 2018:
In February, we were finally able to cast some light on a feature that had been in the works for a while; Specialized Help. Specialized Help allows blind and low-vision users to connect with company representatives for effective and accessible customer support. On February 21st 2018, Specialized Help was launched with Microsoft as the first partner company. In August, Microsoft decided to expand their Specialized Help opening hours to 24/7 support, making it even easier for blind and low-vision users to receive help with their Microsoft products. We’re stoked about the warm welcome that Specialized Help has received, and we’re working hard to bring more companies aboard the platform in 2019!
In March, we followed up the Specialized Help launch with another big one - that being the launch of our Community Stories. You can now read compelling stories from both blind and low-vision users and volunteers directly in the Be My Eyes app and on our website. New stories are released bi-weekly, so make sure to check back regularly.
We started off the year with announcing our cooperation with Moovit in January. Moovit is the #1 public transit app in the world, and with their Be My Eyes integration it is now possible for blind and low-vision travelers to access Be My Eyes directly from the Moovit app if they need a little extra assistance on their journey.
Be My Eyes has been honored with several awards throughout the year, and we are so excited for each and every one of them. We are especially proud of receiving a Google Play Award for Best Accessibility Experience and the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award, which is awarded by the NFB.
It has always been a priority to offer the Be My Eyes service in as many languages as possible, but not until this year has it been possible to access any information from Be My Eyes in other languages than English. With the help of our friends at the translation agency Latinlingua, we are now able to offer our onboarding emails in Spanish and Portuguese. On top of that, with the help of our amazing community, we are now offering localized webpages and subtitles on our brand video in more than 25 languages, making it easier for people around the world to learn about Be My Eyes.
For blind and low-vision iPhone users, Be My Eyes is now fully integrated for use with Siri. Use the command: “Hey Siri, open Be My Eyes”, to open the Be My Eyes app, or the command: “Hey Siri, make a call with Be My Eyes”, to initiate a call to a volunteer.
In 2018, we’ve been happy to welcome many new members to the Be My Eyes community - both blind and low-vision users and sighted volunteers. That means that we have reached many exciting user milestones this year; both 1 million and 1.5 million volunteer signups and 100,000 blind and low-vision signups. A warm welcome to everyone who joined the Be My Eyes community in 2018!
2018 has truly been an amazing year, so thanks to each an every one of you for being a part of the journey. We look forward to see what 2019 has in store - we sure have a couple of things up our sleeves that we can’t wait to share with you. Happy new year!
