Roamler App Review

You've probably seen ads for apps like this one that allow you to make money from home, or work, or the bus, or wherever, as long as you have internet, and don't mind downloading possibly malicious programs to your cellphone for pennies at a time (best done with wi-fi, here in Chile at least you would spend more on the mobile data to download the apps you would then delete than you'd make). You may have even tried a few out, upon seeing these ads again and again and again, I gave a few of them a try and found exactly what I described above, these apps have since been deleted, and if you have one, I'd recommend doing the same. (More info about why you might want to avoid most of the apps you may be paid to download here). Now, don't get me wrong, the apps themselves aren't all that bad, and unlike the PTC sites I wrote about on my other blog here, (that blog will be closed soon, I'll move the posts as soon as I get around to it) they actually will pay you for what you do, once you hit a dollar or so, which takes a while. The problem is that downloading something that's potentially malicious to a device which holds all of your personal information is usually bad news.

Roamler is different.



Unlike the PTC sites I've mentioned before which are complete scams, or the apps that exist to make you download other apps for money (provided you grant them access to your personal information), Roamler actually serves a legitimate, commercial purpose. The premise behind Roamler is basically taking secret shopping into the 21st century, it's cheaper for the businesses involved than hiring several people and ferrying them around the country to write subjective reviews once a month per store, and as a business model, taking a bit off the top of every transaction, Roamler has a bright commercial future.

In order to use Roamler, you just need to live somewhere with a decent number of big box stores, or supermarket chains, and be willing to spend a few minutes of your free time each day taking pictures and answering questions, you won't make a career out of it, but it'll help you get some extra cash in your pocket, paid via Paypal in USD. the basic premise of your first missions will be to take pictures of things you can find on the street, answer a few questions, do some (virtual) community building, etc. These tasks aren't paid, but provide you with much needed experience points that will get you to level 2, where you can start taking pictures of displays, products, and even bananas at your local store. Here in La Serena, I got $2 just for taking some pictures of the bananas at a supermarket I was going to anyway. As you keep doing community tasks, which involve sharing information (not too personal) about yourself or taking a few pictures where you live, couch tasks, which involve answering some questions about something, learning more about the app, and being creative, and commercial tasks, which are paid, and involve snooping around a retailer near you for a few minutes, you keep gaining experience, and get access to more, better paid tasks.

As far as easy money is concerned, you can't go wrong with giving Roamler a shot, after playing around for a week (even in a country where the app has only been available for a little while) I'm very impressed, and recommend giving it a shot, even if you don't like it, you can make a few bucks, and won't be handing your phone over to anyone malicious anytime soon.

Give it a try, and let me know what you think in the comments!

Update 19/10/2014:

Roamler just started a commercial contract with a couple of very large retailers here in Chile, and so the offering of paid tasks has gone up quite a bit, it's even more worth it now than before!