(Image: blerds.atlantablackstar.com)

This post was sponsored by PopTalk. 

For many Latinos, speaking with family back home is priceless. Since we’re not always able to get that face-to-face time in with loved ones, a call or text keeps us all connected.

But what if we told you there was a groundbreaking app designed to not only connect you with your loved ones, but have advertisers foot the bill?

Enter PopTalk.

PopTalk, a smartphone application created to bridge the connectivity gap between Mexicans and Latinos in the U.S. and family in their respective countries, lets users rent out their smartphone lockscreens in exchange for free international calls, texts and pre-paid data. While most apps require both parties to have smartphones and mobile data to communicate, Poptalk users can call their family members who have landline phones or text loved ones who don’t have a smartphone. Hence, ensuring all Latinos can be reached.

Created by former Google managers, UC Berkeley graduate Victor Santos and Harvard graduate Sara Choi, both tech entrepreneurs have immigrant families and wanted to ensure others like them could keep in touch with their loved ones.

(Image: PopTalk)

“It has been a very powerful experience being able to talk to my family freely without incurring any charges,” says Santos to AintILatina.com. “My grandmother in Brazil is not doing well, so it has been a great relief to know we can call and text her anytime, as well as pay for her cell phone bill for free, all using PopTalk.”

PopTalk works with many of the same sponsors you come across in your Facebook news feed. Because PopTalk is accustomed to your likes, you’ll only see things that are relevant and useful to you.

When it comes to credits, here’s how it works:

• You can call and text anyone in the world directly within the PopTalk app.  In Latin America, only 52% of people have a cellphone, notes Choi.  With PopTalk, you can call people with landline phones and text people who have feature phones, as well.
• You can also send your credits to recharge any prepaid phone with airtime or data. Hence, you can send credits to pay for the phone bills of your loved ones abroad, as well as top-up your own phone to give yourself free data.
• You can earn credits by downloading apps or watching videos. (Tip: These can double the number of credits earned.)

PopTalk is available for all Android devices.

More on PopTalk:

PopTalk is a free application allows Android users (iOS to follow in March) to call or SMS any phone for free by simply renting their smartphone lockscreens to sponsors, receiving credits every day by using their phones normally. Users can also use the credits to pay for their relatives’ cellphone service and data in Latin America.

Poptalk offers the highest-quality voice service with rates that are just a fraction of calling cards (30x-100x) and local carriers (10x) so every free credit gets you an abundance of minutes and texts.  For example, the average Poptalk user can call a Mexican landline for 600 minutes every month, for free.

To learn more about Poptalk and to download the app, please visit: http://www.joinpoptalk.com . 

Join the conversation at: https://www.facebook.com/poptalkapp .