Jift App Review

The current choice of social media can leave you feeling a little conflicted. Most of the people you know in real life are most likely using Facebook. Google+ on the other hand is our undisputed favourite at Droid Horizon, with it’s great levels of interaction, slick ad-free (and farmville free) user interface and the easy way you can make new friends with people who share your interests.

The experience of continually switching between apps leaves a lot to be desired, and you’ll likely either suffer from social media overload or just favour one and give the other a quick check when you remember. This is where Jift comes in, allowing you to instantly jump between Google+ and Facebook, view a combined stream and even post to both simultaneously.

When you first open the app you need to sign in to both your Google and Facebook accounts, after which you’ll see the combined stream in the middle with a quick swipe left to see only Facebook or swipe right for G+. When you write a new post you can check whether you want it to go to Facebook and/or G+.

Google have put a lot of effort into making their own Google+ app an attractive and fluid experience. In comparison the Facebook app has faced a lot of criticism for being a resource hog and not offering the best user experience. While Jift does allow you to interact with both streams, the overall experience sits firmly in the middle between the Facebook and Google+ apps. Jift is a great alternative to using the Facebook app, and if your the kind of person who sticks mainly with Facebook then I can heartily recommend it. However if you’re already used to the Google+ app then it will be difficult to make the switch to Jift. For instance you’ll loose animated GIF support, you need to open a post before you can +1 it and the overall experience is just a little janky compared to Google+.

The Android version of this app has only just been released, so I’ll be interested to watch how it develops. However for now I can only recommend it to those who dabble in G+ but generally prefer Facebook.