Need a new app to bring in the New Year? Lucky for you, the creator of Vine, Dom Hoffman, just released the Peach social media app. Peach is a social networking app which functions as a hybrid of Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. What makes it unique? Peach makes things really simple by not having a newsfeed (so yes, this is the app for you if you groan every time someone from your high school posts a political meme) and lets you send multimedia content, like GIFs, music, and emojis.
Launched on Jan. 7, Peach is already becoming viral. The free app has a cute, minimalist aesthetic, as well as a really cool url. Once you download the app from the App store (unfortunately, it's not currently available to Android users, like myself) you create a username and avator. From there, you add friends by either knowing their username or their phone number. Then, you start posting your content. What, exactly, is the intended content, you might be wondering? The creators of Peach say "posting is as easy as texting" and reminds users that "a little says a lot."
Basically, you share status updates about your daily life, similar to how you would user Twitter or Facebook. This is where Peach differs from other social media networks: Because there isn't a true "newsfeed" to scroll through, your "friends" on the app have to tap on your profile to see your past updates. In one sense, this is really neat, because you don't have to scroll through content you don't care about on your feed. On the other hand, as Selena Larson at The Daily Dot points out, the lack of newsfeed makes "it feels a bit like I'm talking to myself whenever I share anything."
The coolest aspect of Peach? In my opinion, it's definitely their "Magic Words." Basically, you start by typing one of the "Magic Words," like "weather" and Peach will post the weather in your current location. Typing "safari," for example, will open the "safari" browser on your phone to search for a link. Here's a list of some of the "Magic Words" (there are 20 in total) from the official Peach website:
Otherwise, there are many similarities between Peach and our preexisting social media. For example, you can "like" a post by tapping the "heart" beneath it. You can also "comment" on people's content. I think the coolest part of Peach is that you can share so much multimedia content, like music or GIFs, without going to a third party source. I also envy the slick aesthetic, which is reminiscent of a text message. I'm hopeful a Peach for Android will be released soon, because this app seems really fun and low-key. Plus, I really want to send "cake" emojis to my friends:
Images: Westend61/Westend61/Getty Images; Giphy; Marissa Higgins/Peach
