App of the week: Loose Ends

Welcome back to our weekly spotlight on helpful apps. We focus on a variety of products that are useful for work, personal use, or both, providing our own thoughts on the apps and what you can do with them. This week we get our social lives in order with Loose Ends.

An intro to Loose Ends
With an erratic schedule and a constantly shifting business landscape, PAs, EAs and event organisers may find themselves in odd places and with irregular working times, and this is where Loose Ends steps in. With a very simple and straightforward set-up process, the app wants to help you out when you’re, well, at a loose end. Split into four sections, the app encourages you to create groups with like-minded people and either chat online, find out when and where they’re planning to meet up, create your own meet-up, or find an appropriate destination for a group to meet.

The app is particularly handy for PAs whose inconsistent schedules could bring them to certain areas or city districts where inviting nearby friends to lunch, dinner, or drinks is made much simpler. A cross between Facebook’s own events feature and travel apps like TripAdvisor, Loose Ends helps you search for nearby ‘inspiration’ and then lets you invite your friends in the area.

Our review
The log-in and set-up is very simple. All you need to do is connect your Facebook account, but that does raise the question – if you and all your friends are already connected via Facebook, why do you need another app with the same functionality? Well, the streamlining certainly adds to its appeal, and if you use it as a tool to connect with work friends outside of the office, it can be a great way to get people together quickly. The ‘inspire’ tab works very well, using your location to determine restaurants and bars nearby, making it easier to suggest a rendezvous point.

The verdict
The app is at its best when you’ve only got an hour or so to kill, when you’re at a titular ‘Loose End’ and want to know if anyone’s nearby for a bite or a drink.

You can download the app for free on Apple and Android devices, and you can find more info here