2014 is not dawning as a very happy new year for users of the Google-acquired Bump, as Google announced on New Year's Eve that it will shut down both of Bump's services at the end of January. Bump was acquired in September 2013, with the company saying, "We couldn't be more thrilled to join Google, a company that shares our belief that the application of computing to difficult problems can fundamentally change the way that we interact with one another and the world." Four months later, Google is killing Bump's services.

The primary product of Bump is a sharing app for Android and iOS. Users could share contacts, photos, files, and apps over the Internet, but instead of choosing someone from a list of contacts, pairing was done via the device accelerometers. The devices needed to be physically next to each other, and users would have to "bump" the two devices together. The simultaneous bumping would pair the devices over the Bump service and start the sharing of data. Bump's other product was called "Flock," a photo app that could automatically create shared albums of an event with friends who were also at that event.

At the time of the acquisition, it was unclear what Google wanted with the company, but with this announcement, it looks like an acqui-hire. Bump's blog post said, "We are now deeply focused on our new projects within Google, and we’ve decided to discontinue Bump and Flock. On January 31, 2014, Bump and Flock will be removed from the App Store and Google Play. After this date, neither app will work, and all user data will be deleted."

Users that open either of Bump's apps between now and the end of January will have the option to back up all their data from Bump's servers before the shutdown. In its parting remarks, the Bump blog says, "In many ways, Bump was a revolutionary product that inspired many subsequent advances and helped push the world forward. We hope our new creations at Google will do the same."