On Wednesday, September 9th, SIKU will undergo a major update to version 3 across the web, iOS and Android apps. This is the biggest change to SIKU’s foundations since we launched in 2019, and we wanted to explain, in plain terms, why we’re doing it, what will happen during the update, and how it will affect you.
When is this happening?
The update will begin around 8:00 AM Eastern on Wednesday, September 9th, and will take approximately 4 hours to complete.
What will change during the update?
- The SIKU website will be completely offline. You won’t be able to access it during the update window.
- The mobile apps will stay usable, and if you’re already logged in, you’ll stay logged in. No need to do anything. You can still make posts in offline mode. However, below is a list of the limits to the mobile app during this update.
- You won’t be able to view feeds or upload new posts until the update finishes and you update you app.
- If you’re not logged in, you will need to wait until the update is done before you can log in and use SIKU again.
Please note: The reason we need to take SIKU offline for a short time is to make sure every post updates correctly during this process so that we will be ready to go the moment we’re back online.
What do I need to do?
After the update is complete on September 9th, new versions of the SIKU mobile apps for iOS and Android will be immediately available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Please update your SIKU Mobile app (do not uninstall) to continue viewing feeds and uploading posts.
Any posts you’ve already made will carry over automatically. Nothing will be lost in the move to the new system. Please be aware that the first time you open SIKU after updating, you will see a slightly longer loading screen than usual. This is the app converting your existing posts into the format compatible with version 3. Once that’s done, everything should work the way it always has, just faster, more secure, and more reliable.
Why we’re doing this
Since SIKU launched in 2019, the community has grown significantly: more Indigenous communities, more projects, more users, and more posts and trips being uploaded every day. It’s taken two years to build version 3, drawing on everything we’ve learned from you over the seven years since SIKU first launched, so that SIKU can keep up with the growth of our community and users.
A few things this made possible:
- Stronger security. We’ve invested heavily in making sure Indigenous data stays safe and can only be accessed by the people who are meant to have access to it.
- Better performance at scale. Even our largest projects can now load all of their posts on the dashboard and map at once, something that wasn’t possible before.
- A rebuilt web platform. The web version of SIKU has been completely rebuilt from the ground up. This includes more advanced project management functionality and many other improvements to bring it up to speed with the mobile apps’ features and lay a solid foundation for years to come.
On mobile, you won’t notice as many visible changes; however, the recent changes include: some dark mode improvements, new language support for Cree, Danish, and Avanerriarmiutut (North Greenlandic), and small design improvements, which is intentional. Mobile has been working well for the SIKU community, and we don’t want to change things just for the sake of change. But under the hood, the mobile apps have also been rebuilt from the foundation up to support version 3.
If something doesn’t look right
Over the following weeks, we’ll be closely monitoring the system and pushing out fixes as needed. If you run into any issues during or after the migration, please reach out to us:
- In-app messaging
- Email: support@siku.org
We read every message that comes in and will do our best to respond quickly and fix any problems.
Looking ahead
This update lays the groundwork for the next 10 years of SIKU. Thank you for your patience during the update.
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