Lapse is a British

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

platform and photo-sharing app. Co-founded by Dan and Ben Silvertown in 2021, the app offers users the ability to take and share images, as well as interact with other users' posts through comments and reactions. It also lets users form groups to collaborate to produce a digital photo collection. It gained popularity with its launch in 2021 and later in 2023 when it was re-released as invitation-only. Similar to BeReal and Dispo, a user's photo is “processed” in a “

dark room A darkroom is used to process photographic film, make prints and carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and photographic ...

” for a few hours and cannot be edited in any form, producing a grainy image style resembling that of

analog photography Film photography or classical photography, also known by the retronym analog photography, is a term usually applied to photography that uses chemical processes to capture an image, typically on paper, film or a hard plate. These processes were ...

. Branding itself as "for Friends not Followers" on

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

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, it has a focus on being "authentic" on social media.

History

2021 launch

Lapse was originally launched in 2021 to mimic the style of a

point-and-shoot camera A point-and-shoot camera, also known as a compact camera and sometimes abbreviated to P&S, is a still camera (either film or digital) designed primarily for simple operation. Most use focus free lenses or autofocus for focusing, automatic syste ...

, but refocused as a " photo dump" journal like the mobile app VSCO. After a pre-seed funding round of $1.4 million, the app was launched on the

in September 2021 and attracted 10,000

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users, along with a 150,000 member waiting list. In December 2021, the company raised $11 million in a seed round of funding.

2023 re-release

The app was re-released in June 2023. The release controversially required new users to invite five new users before attaining posting permissions, described by ''

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'' reporter Sarah Perez as "forcing you to invite your friends." This helped the app gain users and widespread popularity beginning September 2023. According to Appfigures, Lapse peaked at 218,000 downloads in a day in October and briefly became the most downloaded app on the U.S. App Store, and maintained in the top 5 daily. As of October 2023, Lapse had almost 1.2 million users, reflecting its rapid adoption among younger audiences.

2024 Funding

On February 27, 2024, Lapse secured $30 million in funding from investors ''

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'' and ''DST Global Partners''. This investment is part of the company's efforts to expand its workforce, with plans to hire additional personnel in product development, engineering, and design. The funding comes after a period of growth, including a significant increase in the app's user base following its re-release in mid-2023. The company stated that the new capital will help to improve the platform's capabilities and user experience as it continues to compete in the social media space.

References

{{Reflist Computer-related introductions in 2021 Image-sharing websites Internet properties established in 2021 Mobile applications Mobile social software Social networking services Social media companies