Sharing photos with a loved one in a way other than through instant messaging and more directly? That’s exactly what Locket Widget offers. This iOS application was developed by Matthew Moss, a developer fresh out of the University of California at Santa Barbara.
The goal of this application was to allow him and his girlfriend, who is also a student and about to go back to college, to easily send each other pictures directly on the home screen of their respective iPhones during this forced long-distance relationship.
The application, which is totally free, does however require you to register using a mobile number. Once your account is registered, you will be able to send and receive photos in a widget pinned to your iPhone screen with up to five people.
1. Download Locket Widget
If you have not already done so, start by downloading the Locket Widget app to your iPhone and invite your friends and family to do the same. The app is free, with no ads or in-app purchases, but requires registration to work.
Download Locket Widget for iPhone
2. Set up your account
Open the app on your iPhone and tap Set up my Locket. Locket requires you to register with your phone number in order to function. Enter your phone number in the field provided and press the Continue button.
You should then receive a validation code via SMS. Enter this code at step Verify your number and press Continue. Then enter your first name then your last name and validate by pressing Continue.
3. Import your contacts
In order to be able to send images to your friends and family, Locket requires the import of your contacts. Press the Enable contacts button and then in the pop-up to allow access to your contacts, touch the OK button to accept.
Locket will automatically detect contacts in your address book that are using the application. Press the +Add button next to each contact directly to invite them to join your group.
If you want to use Locket with a contact who has not yet used the application, search for their name directly in the Search your contacts field and press +Add. Locket will then automatically generate an invitation to download the application to be sent via message.
Once your contacts have been added (or invited), press the Continue button and close the application. Note that Locket is a micro social network and that the number of friends you can add is very limited. You can only share your photos with a maximum of 5 people.
4. Add the Widget on the home screen
Go to a page on your home screen with enough free space and hold your finger on it to enter the editing mode. Then press the + button at the top left of the screen to access the Widgets available on your iPhone.
Select the Widget Locket, then choose one of the two widgets offered by the application and press the button to Add the widget to pin it to the iPhone’s home screen and press the OK button at the top right to save your changes.
5. Finalize the setup
Now that the app is set up on your iPhone and your loved ones have done the same, you need to finalize the app setup.
To do this, tap the widget on your home screen that should say Tap to setup, and tap the Finish button. To make sure you don’t miss the arrival of a new image in the widget, Locket asks for permission to display notifications.
In the permission pop-up displayed on the screen, tap Allow to accept, and then tap OK to accept that the app accesses your iPhone’s camera.
6. Send Photos
You should now be able to send and receive photos in the widget. When the widget Locket is opened, it opens the iPhone camera directly. Take a picture and if you are satisfied with the result, press the send button with a paper airplane.
The picture is automatically sent and displayed in the Locket widget pinned on your friends’ iPhone home screen. All photos sent and received via Locket are logged in the History section of the application and can be saved to the iPhone’s camera roll via the share button.