Social media app Vero experiences boom in popularity

Social media platform Vero has experienced a surge in popularity over the weekend, with the app crashing due to high demand.

The app was launched in 2015, however with Facebook and Snapchat recently reporting losses of young users, Vero’s sudden boom could be attributed to their search for a new platform.

Vero is also giving its first million users free subscription for life, which has led to increased numbers of people signing up. After then, new users will be asked for a “small” annual fee to join the network.

The app began experiencing technical issues on Saturday, which are still affecting the company at the time of publication.

The app combines elements of existing social media platforms, including a news feed, comments, posts and likes as Facebook does, with the emphasis on photos and videos like Instagram. The app also views its posts in chronological order.

Connections on the social media app are defined as close friends, friends, and acquaintances. Users can choose to limit content to these specific relationship groups.

The company claims Vero is a “more authentic” social media app, relying on a subscription-based model rather than using traditional advertising.

Ayman Hariri, CEO and co-founder of Vero, said in a statement: “Social networks tend to treat online relationships as a one-size-fits-all model, and that simply isn’t the way people interact in real life.

“At Vero, we’ve figured out a way to humanize online relationships and replicate those one-to-one communication nuances.”

Twitter users have also been voicing their criticisms of the app, including concerns about its technical difficulties and its similarity to other platforms.

Vero assured Twitter users on Friday that they were still part of the first million to sign up, however there has not been an update since.