Anaheim, California, 12 March, 2025 - Be My Eyes (bemyeyes.com), the company that connects people who are blind or have low vision with volunteers and companies, through live video and AI, today announced some major new milestones, and a number of additional services available for its community users. The announcement further re-enforces the leadership of Be My Eyes in the accessibility-tech sector for people who are blind or have low vision, and highlights the significant momentum within the business.
The Be My Eyes app has now been used by almost 800,000 users and over 8.5 million volunteers since its launch ten years ago. This makes it both the largest network of people who are blind or have low vision, and the largest volunteer network of its kind in the world. At the current growth rate of over 30% for blind users, it is expected to reach over 1 million by the end of this year.
AppleVis is the goto online resource for information, advice, hints and tips about Apple products and devices for the blind and low vision community. Following its acquisition by Be My Eyes during the summer of 2024, AppleVis has been going from strength to strength. Monthly visitors to the AppleVis website have grown by over 30% since September 2024, which when pro-rated represents a year-on-year growth of over 70%.
The resources available to Be My Eyes’ users are continually being assessed and refreshed, both within the app itself and more generally via the Be My Eyes website. Podcasts are particular favourites amongst the user community, and are now complemented with direct access to the popular DoubleTap channel. All DoubleTap podcasts can be accessed directly from within the app by simply clicking the ‘Community’ tab.
A new service has been developed that allows businesses to define ‘Special Interest Groups’ of up to 200 members. Members of the groups can be either blind users or volunteers. The application of these special interest groups are many and various, but one of the first organizations to take advantage of this new feature is the Association de Chiens Guides d’Aveugles de Lyon et du Centre-Est (the Association of Guide Dogs for the Blind in Lyon and the Centre-East Region). Their Special Interest Group brings together those people with guide dogs, who live and work in the Lyon region of France, with a network of local advisors and volunteers who know the region well and understand the nuances of owning a guide dog and their specific needs. Now blind users in the region can simply connect to the first available group member for suggestions, advice and descriptions of local amenities, or assistance with their dogs.
“Our user community is always our north star, and so it is with great pride that the core app for our users continues to grow in popularity and use”, said Mike Buckely, CEO of Be My Eyes. “Likewise AppleVis continues to show strong growth and robust community use. It remains the de-facto resource for people who are blind or have low vision to get information, advice and help with their Apple devices”, he continued.
“We are always looking for ways to add further value and services to our user community as well as the businesses (our customers) who serve them. So something like our new Special Interest Groups function is of particular interest. With a number of organizations now actively looking at ways to add value to their blind and low vision customers - such as museums and other cultural institutions - we thank our customer the Association de Chiens Guides d’Aveugles de Lyon for being one of our first customers using the new capability”, he concluded.
About Be My Eyes
Launched in 2015, Be My Eyes is a globally recognized and award-winning access technology provider for people who are blind or have low vision. With a global community of almost 800,000 users, and 8.5 million volunteers, Be My Eyes connects blind and low-vision users with volunteers and companies, through live video and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to tackle inaccessible parts of everyday life, whether at home or at work; and all for free to the end user.
Be My Eyes is available in more than 150 countries worldwide and its volunteers speak more than 180 languages.
To learn more, please visit bemyeyes.com or join us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky and TikTok.
