The next time students try to use the UFmobile application, it will no longer be available.
After about 3 1/2 years of operation, the free UFmobile iPhone app shut down Wednesday.
Bryan Dubno, the creator of UFmobile, released the first version of the app in August 2009. Since then, it has garnered a user base of about 34,000 people.
Following its release, UFmobile was used about two million times, said the 23-year-old fifth-year computer science and engineering student. With so many people using the app, shutting it down may come as a surprise.
“Costs are piling up,” Dubno said. “It’s just getting to the point where I can’t really afford to keep supporting it — especially since the app is free.”
UFmobile was never officially sponsored, endorsed or promoted by UF. Dubno said he had some trouble with the trademark, because the app’s title includes the university name.
However, UF spokesman Steve Orlando said the university had nothing to do with the app.
The app featured a campus map students could sync with their schedules, a UF directory, RTS information, an event calendar, a UF news feed, a live camera feed from the Southwest Recreation Center and a chat function that allowed students to interact with the UF community.
“Keep an eye out,” Dubno said. “I’m still trying to figure out some way that I can keep it alive. Hopefully, it’ll return in some form.”
