From photos to letters to putting money on the books, there are tons of options when it comes to using our smart phones to keep in touch with our inmates. I am reviewing the apps I’ve used to give you the inside scoop.
Pigeonly
Platform: iPhone and Android
Payment: Credit Card
Pigeonly does a lot of things. You can send photos or greeting cards. They have a phone service and they have worked with Strong Prison Wives to create an app that is like a chat room or message board on your phone. To date, I’ve used Pigeonly to send photos, they offer a free credit when you sign up. After you have used the credit, they print each photo for 20 cents and there is a flat rate shipping of $2.99. I like to use them when I have a lot of photos to send, like after a vacation or around holidays because their shipping is cheaper and their cost for printing is cheaper than going to CVS or Walgreens to get a few pictures printed. I downloaded and installed the SPW app on my iPhone (it is also available for Android devices). There seem to be a lot of people who are on there and using it, however I don’t think the layout lends itself to a lot of back and forth discussions. Also, you have to be manually approved to use the app and are asked for your name, email and phone number. I am not sure if that is to track how many people use the app in comparison to the other services Pigeonly uses, but it is weird to me. Anyway, it took around 7 hours to get approved I believe so don’t plan on installing it and being able to go chat it up with other prison wives right away.
JailMail
Platform: iPhone and Android
Payment: Credit Card, PayPal
JailMail was the first app that I used in 2008. I send a few things via this. I thought that because they ship from Maryland it would be faster since my letters weren’t traveling 1,600 miles. It was, but not by enough to be a regular go to when it comes to my letters. Their prices are reasonable and you can upload photos from your phone to include with your letter. Their prices are:
Letters – .99 cents each (up to 6 pages)
Photos – .49 cents each (4×6 Glossy)
Postcards – 1.29 each
Also, its worth mentioning that they have a rewards program and for every ten letters you mail through them, you get one free so if you’re someone who really likes typing on their phone this might be something to look into. Payment is made via credit card or PayPal. I like the PayPal option as I am not a fan of typing my credit card information on my phone.
Flikshop
Platform: iPhone and Android
Payment: Credit Card
Flikshop is a super simple and brilliant idea. It is a simple postcard that your photo is printed out on and there is a perforated crease to tear away the address information. They start at 99 cents per post card, if you buy them individually, or you can purchase a bulk of credits and get a discount. Its a great option if you just have a single photo to send with a short, 300 character, message. I know that NYDOC facilities love them because they cut down on the time to process mail since they don’t need to be individually inspected.
JPAY
Platform: iPhone and Android
Payment: Credit Card
JPay allows you to send letters and pictures to any facility. Some states allow it for phone time or to send money to your inmate. Honestly, the only thing I like about it is their website. You know how some companies come up with things that they think are good ideas but really are just making a problem worse? That is how I feel about JPay. They are a last resort to me, because I hate their parent company, but I’ll save that rant for another day. You purchase ‘stamps’ with JPay in order to send letters, photos, videos to your inmate. I tried to find pricing but I don’t see it off hand, I feel like it was similar to JailMail. I do like typing on my standard keyboard more than my phone, so that is the only benefit to JPay for me, but I still won’t use them.
There are other apps, but these I think are the ones that are most common and that I hear about the most. If you have others, please feel free to comment on the post and let us know your thoughts!