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The archive / Apps
Apps we were obsessed with
Invitations, anonymous messages, little games and the social worlds we built around them.
9 stories to exploreApps
Showing 1–9 of 9
Apps · 2021
Clubhouse: anyone got an invite?
Clubhouse made an app invitation worth asking around for in 2021. Inside, Indian hosts were reading newspapers, making music and trying to keep people coming back.
Apps · 2020 lockdown
Ludo King: the group chat got a board game.
During the 2020 lockdown, Ludo King let friends and families share a familiar board from separate homes. Even the advice about winning made room for a rematch.
Apps · 2000s–2014
Orkut: would you write me a testimonial?
Scraps, communities and a friend writing nice things about you: Orkut offered a very particular way to be social online before its 2014 goodbye.
Apps · 2017–2018
Sarahah: one link, far too many suspects.
In 2017, Sarahah links and turquoise screenshots filled social feeds. Anonymous compliments invited guessing games; abusive messages showed the cost of a missing name.
Apps · 2015 Indian wave · app closed 2022
Dubsmash: your face, somebody else’s dialogue.
In 2015, Dubsmash gave a familiar film dialogue a new face. Sonakshi Sinha joined in, Instagram carried the clips, and getting the timing right took practice.
Apps · July 2019
FaceApp: suddenly, looking older was the idea.
In July 2019, FaceApp made older selfies worth sharing. Indian celebrity posts helped the joke along, while questions about uploaded photographs followed close behind.
Apps · 2017–2018
Musical.ly: this is taking more than fifteen seconds.
Indian Musical.ly creators were rehearsing, building audiences and earning from promotions in 2018. Then an app update moved their work under the TikTok name.
Apps · 2016
Pokémon GO: there was a reason for the detour.
Pokémon GO put imaginary creatures on familiar routes in 2016. India’s official December launch followed the global July release, with a Jio partnership of its own.
Apps · 2022
Wordle: don’t tell me the answer yet.
In 2022, Wordle made coloured squares into a daily conversation. You could share how badly the guessing went without spoiling the five-letter answer.