The Be My Eyes app was released over three years ago as a form of assistance for the blind and low vision community of people. With the help of live video connections, company representatives and sighted volunteers aim to help these people solve day-to-day tasks like cooking, finding lost items, and more. In recent months, the app has grown to become the largest online community for the visually impaired, with over 900,000 users from more than 150 countries.
Now, the team behind this application has announced that it will be collaborating with Microsoft to offer its customers technical assistance as well.
Although the app was primarily created people to complete simple tasks in their daily lives, the Be My Eyes team noted that a high volume of requests to its volunteers were tech-related as well, which is why it decided to approach Microsoft. After updating the app, users will now be able to contact Microsoft's Disability Answer Desk, which is a free consumer service for disabled customers. To access this feature, a new Specialized Help menu has been added solely to cater to customers who have tech-related requests.
Neil Barnett, Microsoft's Director of the Disability Answer Desk, commented on the collaboration, noting:
Be My Eyes provides a new and innovative way for our customers to get technical support. With a simple tap, customers can access the Disability Answer Desk from their phone to get the help they need with Microsoft products and services.
Currently this feature is available to customers in the following regions: Australia, Canada, UK, Hong Kong, Ireland, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States.
Hans Jørgen Wiberg, creator of Be My Eyes, stated that he and his team felt ''honored" to receive Microsoft's support in ''helping individuals lead more independent lives''. His team of developers has welcomed any feedback from customers of other companies as well - with regards to what may be added to the Specialized Help menu in the future. The updated Be My Eyes app can be downloaded from the Play Store or the App Store.
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