Locketa personal social networking app for friends, has scored a victory with Gen Alpha users after launching its latest feature, rollcall.
App, which can show friends who share photos that then appear on the home screen, First Hit the top of the app store charts in early 2022 By using Apple’s widget system to form a social network. Instead of updates being sent via a push connection, the app’s widget will update to show newly posted photos. This, in turn, will drive engagement in the app, asking users to share their own photos.
Kicklall’s rollcall feature takes a similar approach to turning Apple’s platform features into social networking tools, CEO Matt Moss explained. A former Apple Developer Conference (WWDC) Student Winner, Moss knows that new formats can help attract users and draw people.
RollCall asks users to share their favorite photos from the past week, and it uses an iOS feature called live activity. This allows apps to use the iPhone’s lock screen to capture the user’s attention. Introduced in iOS 18, Direct Activity Allows iOS applications to update frequently used information such as the lock screen and the dynamic island (the black bar at the top of the screen).
Apple originally had live activity as a way for applications with real-time information to update users – for example, with information about an Uber arrival or a pizza delivery. However, some applications have used the technology in a unique way, like adding a virtual pet Frolic on Dynamic Island, or Display real-time lyrics For the song you’re listening to on your lock screen.
For the closet, but life activities become a modern version of push notifications.
“Every Sunday, we’ll capture your lock screen and you’ll get great live activity on your iPhone’s homepage,” Moss said. “It’s similar to a widget (like) using Apple technology to get in front of people and then you share that time,” he told TechCrunch at the techCritun hall last week.
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The use of technology in this way has proven successful for the wardrobe, which has north of 91 million lifetime installs on iOS and Android, each AppFigure estimate. In RollCall’s first week, Locket saw more than a million shares driven by the feature, the company said.
Additionally, moss says more than 25% of the app’s active users now post weekly rollcalls.
“Live events draw a lot of people,” Moss said. “And have fun, because friends share, they will feel very happy.”
About 80% of RollCall’s active users are classified as Gen Alpha.
The founder notes there are some differences between How Gen Alpha and Gen Z use Locket.
“I think the big difference is … (it’s) a friend piece. We have a lot of users now (for whom) the closet is like a friend.” Send a photo. Share photos with 10 or 20 of your best friends. I think that’s a big difference for us,” he said.
With rollcall gaining traction out of the gate, the company is now exploring ways to use the feature as a launch pad for other experiences beyond photos. For example, moss adding video support is an obvious next step, but they are also thinking about how to integrate things like music, favorite places you visit, or directions designed for you to remember during the week.
While the cabinet has no plans to support photo or video creation, like Sora or Meta Ai, the company is considering how AI can be used in other ways – like creating photo collages.
“Although these things can use a lot of attention,” said Moss, referring to the basics of AI, “there is a foundation and a foundation of communication that exists throughout the world. There is always a role to play.”
The company is also thinking about how clicks can turn users’ virtual connections with friends into more tangible TouchPoints — even if it’s as simple as a user calling or texting a friend.
“I think for us, it’s always more fun: how can we use these things correctly, than what people can understand is fun, and you can be a better force, and you can be a person who actually knows,” said moss.
Locket today moneties through subscription. As a result, the 15-person company has been profitable since last year.