Sidecar App Lets You Share Data While on the Phone

A San Francisco-based startup called Sidecar is looking to make your phone calls a little smarter.

The company on Tuesday launched the Sidecar app for iPhone and Android smartphones that lets users make free VoIP calls, as well as share live videos, photos, contact information, and location data. What makes Sidecar different from other apps is that it lets you share data while you talk on the phone. So, you don't have to end your phone call, or fire up another app to share photos or location data.

"Until now, voice calling has sat in a silo by itself," Rob Williams, chief executive officer of Sidecar, said in a statement. "People who wanted to do more than talk had to toggle back and forth between voice calls and whatever else they wanted to share with the person they were calling. Sidecar tears down these barriers and lets people easily share live video, location, photos, and contacts while they talk. The result is a more fun, engaging, and expressive conversation."

With the app, you can turn your phone's front- or rear-facing camera during a call to launch a video session. You can also snap photos, or grab one from your phone's library, and instantly share it with the person on the other end of the line. To share locations, Sidecar lets you look at an interactive map of where you are in relation to the person with whom you're chatting.

The app is available for free in the App Store and Google Play. It synchs your address book, and finds other friends on Sidecar. It provides free VoIP calling to anyone in the world, as long as they are a Sidecar user.

You can also call anyone in the U.S. or Canada for free, even if the recipient of the call is not a Sidecar user. When the call ends, the recipient will receive a text message inviting them to download Sidecar.