Bump

Forgotten Apps · 2009

Bump was a mobile app that let users exchange contacts, photographs and other files by physically bumping two smartphones together. Motion, location and timing data identified the paired devices while the transfer itself was coordinated online.

Why It Mattered

Bump turned an otherwise invisible network transaction into a memorable physical gesture. During the early smartphone era, that simple interaction made device-to-device sharing feel immediate and helped demonstrate how phone sensors could support new social behaviours.

The Bump Gesture

The app combined motion, location and timing data to match two phones after their users bumped them together.
Transfers were coordinated through internet-connected services rather than passing directly through the physical contact.
The interface supported contacts, photographs and other files while hiding the matching process behind one gesture.

Acquisition and Closure

Bump Technologies launched the app in 2009.
Google acquired the company in 2013 and moved the team onto other projects.
Bump and the related Flock app closed on 31 January 2014.

Mobile-Sharing Legacy

Bump became a widely recognised example of early smartphone interaction design.
Its physical metaphor made wireless sharing easier to understand before built-in sharing systems became commonplace.