The Houseparty app, recently released for Android and iOS, is a Snapchat-like app for group video calls.
The idea, the company says, is to capture some of the spirit of Meerkat, but in a more personal way that encourages users to join in. Unlike Meerkat, Houseparty's video calls are for small groups of friends.
You can add friends based on phone numbers you have saved in contacts or search for their names. Once you open the app, you can join “rooms” (the app’s chat name) with other friends who have the app. Chats are limited to eight participants per room, but you can have as many rooms as you want.
The company behind Houseparty, now called Life in Air, has seemingly taken control of Houseparty since the beginning of the year, but has made every effort to distance itself from the Meerkat name. Ben Rubin, Meerkat's CEO, previously revealed that his company is moving away from live video, but hasn't said much about the new product other than that it will be a video-centric social network.
The app has already garnered a fairly large user base, mostly teenagers. In many ways, the app is geared towards younger users. There are also some fun Easter eggs, like a warning that appears if a mutual friend you don't know joins one of your conversations. Like Snapchat, the app isn't very clever and avoids explaining its features (remind you of anything?). In other words: The learning curve can be a bit steep if you're over 23.
Not that it matters, at least for now. Thanks to marketing on some college campuses, Houseparty has already had success on the App Store, and the company says it expects that success to continue now that schools have reopened.
