Bond Is a New Social Media App That Encourages You to Get Offline


The creators of a new social media app called Bond want you to stop doomscrolling and to create bonds… in person.

Bond, which launched on Tuesday, was created by a team of developers who previously worked for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. The Bond app is currently available for iOS. 

Co-founder and CEO Dino Becirovic said that the app is designed to encourage you to interact with your friends rather than passively consume social content or make posts for the algorithm. 

“We use a ‘friending’ model and remove feeds to eliminate performative behavior and give you psychological safety,” Becirovic told CNET. 

Bond uses the photos, videos and audio files you upload to help generate real-life interactive ideas that interest you through its AI function. The more memories you share with Bond, the more tailored its activity suggestions will be. For example, if you recently attended a Bruno Mars concert and shared a picture on your Bond account, it might recommend similar or upcoming concerts in your area. 

Like other social media platforms, you can share life updates and add friends, except there aren’t follower counts or a feed you scroll through. Bond’s website says the idea is to share memories “for yourself first” and to “post for your friends second.” You can revisit your memories whenever you want, unless you delete them. 

Read more: Kids, Social Media and Safety: Why a Years-Long Battle Has No End in Sight

Becirovic told CNET that the company doesn’t sell content or personal information to third parties without the user’s permission. “Bond is designed to give users ownership over their data, full control over their profile and full agency in their decisions,” he said.

The platform won’t have ads, but Becirovic said one potential way it could make money in the future is by allowing users to license their content voluntarily to AI companies seeking training data. Bond could take a portion of that money.

Any content shared on the app is only visible to friends. Users will be able to control what they share and save, and can delete their account and data at any time. 

As more people try to limit their time on social media, some have turned to app-blocking devices such as Brick or to adjusting time limits in the iPhone’s screen time app. 





Source link

Leave a Reply

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get our latest articles delivered straight to your inbox. No spam, we promise.

Recent Reviews


Windrose was a hit in a recent Steam Next Fest event, with more than 850,000 people checking out the demo. More than 1.5 million people have wishlisted the pirate survival-adventure title on Steam as well. So, it’s safe to say this game has some wind in its sails, and it’ll be arriving very soon. During Thursday’s Triple-i Initiative showcase, developer Windrose Crew revealed that it’s charted a course for an early access release on Steam, the Epic Games Store and Stove on April 14 for $30.

In Windrose, you can sail the high seas solo or explore the open world with friends. While the world is procedurally generated, the developers have handcrafted more than 90 points of interest, such as dungeons, temples and shipwrecks.

You and your buds can team up to take down rival ships by sharing command of your vessel’s weapons. Once you get close enough, you can board enemy ships for close-quarters combat. A broad range of weapons (including swords and muskets) can help you in battle with adversaries such as sailors, monstrous creatures and bosses.

Windrose also features farming, fishing, crafting and trading, as well as a reputation system and base building. You can hire non-player characters for your crew as well.

Windrose Crew expects the game to remain in early access for around 1.5 to 2.5 years. It plans to add 50 percent more content, such as new biomes (the early access version has three), enemies, ships and gear. The developers might introduce more gameplay systems as well. The team also said the main story should take players between 50 and 70 hours to complete.

This is a grittier alternative to Sea of Thieves and Skull and Bones for those who want to engage in a spot of piracy with some of their friends. If you’d like to sample what Windrose is all about, the demo remains available on all three PC platforms.



Source link