Mocavo, Inc. has released version 1.0 of Mocavo (it had been discussed at RootsTech last month). It’s available on the iOS platform for now and it’s free. There should be an Android version in the near future, because at the beginning of February, they mentioned that they expected them to be available within the next 30 days.
Mocavo has stated they are more of a search engine for free genealogy data and information and their mobile app expands that functionality and allows people to contribute. Around this time last year, Dick Eastman talked about Mocavo’s search engine
Features of Mocavo’s Mobile App:
* Use the search engine functionality of http://www.mocavo.com/
* Subscribe to real-time feeds, including the Mocavo Discovery Feed, which shows you genealogy-related data such as photographs, documents, letters, and books as they are added.
* Take photos of photographs, documents, and books, and Mocavo’s software will automatically perform OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and index the content of those photos.
* Scrapbook – manages your documents you’ve uploaded to Mocavo.
Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad
* iOS 3.1 or later
Link to Apple iTunes Apps Store
* Update: No longer available.
Other Links:
* Mocavo Support
Note: I have not spoken to Mocavo directly about this, but I always have a concern about uploading content, whether it be family photos or documents or things you’ve scanned or photographed elsewhere, to third parties. My concern is namely about whether they can then claim ownership of that content and whether they can then sell it commercially. Mocavo does state the following in the description of their mobile app: Not ready to share your family photos and documents with the world? Not a problem. We’ll let you upload them to your Scrapbook to keep safe in a digital space for generations to come.
Mocavo also states on their FAQ about Privacy Policies in regards to uploading family tree information: your tree is yours. Mocavo does not claim ownership of your family tree data and you have the option to delete your tree from Mocavo at any time.