The Yo App Is Being Used To Alert Israelis To Rocket Attacks

Yo has has been heavily criticized for being "meaningless" and "stupid." The messaging app enables users to do only one thing, to send the message "Yo" to one another.

Yet despite the scrutiny of the app that was reportedly created in only eight hours, it was able to attract $1 million from investors, survive a security hack and now, alert people of missile attacks.

Fast Company saw that Geektime, a website based in Israel, reported that Yo is being used to notify Israelis outside of the country if missiles were being fired upon it.

The notifications are being conducted by Yo in conjunction with the Israeli Color Red app, an unofficial, self-described "propaganda tool" that sends push notifications of rocket explosions, according to Fast Company.

olor Red co-creator Ari Sprung told the Times of Israel that users can receive notifications of rocket attacks through Yo; the app is designed as an informational tool rather than as a real-time safety tool. Beyond the fact that air raid sirens and radio alerts offer faster notifications than mobile apps, Yo's push notification capability is still relatively limited. No similar app exists on the Gaza side of the border, but Twitter is in wide use in Gaza.

"Now, in 2014, with the Israeli military (IDF) embarking on what could be a long-term campaign against Hamas, missiles and rockets are likely to continue falling on Israel's south, and perhaps center, as well - and Red Alert: Israel has gained renewed popularity, not only among residents of the south, said Sprung, but among supporters of Israel abroad," reported David Shamah at The Times of Israel.

At least 14 people were killed Tuesday on the Gaza Strip in the latest flare up of violence in the region, Palestinian officials said, according to Reuters.

Israel threatened a lengthy offensive against militants whose rocket fire reached as far as Tel Aviv - the furthest since tensions heated again three weeks ago.