Once-hot photo-sharing app Poparazzi is shutting down

Poparazzi, the once-hot photo-sharing app that hit the highest of the App Retailer in 2021, is shutting down. The corporate announced the information by way of a Medium weblog late final week, informing customers that the app can be discontinued and customers had till June 30, 2023 to obtain their content material. Final 12 months, Poparazzi’s founders at TTYL Inc. stated the app had grown to five+ million complete installs and confirmed its increase of $15 million in Collection A funding.

Although Poparazzi had felt on the time like an in a single day sensation, co-founder and CEO Alex Ma and his brother, co-founder Austen Ma, had spent three years growing apps and pivoting to attain the success they generated with Poparrazi’s launch. In a 2022 interview with TechCrunch, Alex stated Poparrazi was really the eleventh or twelfth app that was generated by these efforts. Amongst these was the audio social community, TTYL, a form of “Clubhouse for associates,” which their firm can be named for.

Poparrazi, nonetheless, generated lots of hype quickly after its launch, climbing the charts to achieve No. 1 on the App Retailer. The idea behind the app was a photo-sharing-focused social community that primarily took Instagram’s tagging characteristic and turned it into your complete expertise. On Poparazzi, customers may tag their associates however couldn’t put up photographs of their very own. The concept was that this might create a extra genuine kind of social community, as photographs wouldn’t essentially be the polished, perfected photographs that fill Instagram, however slightly the informal moments that make up individuals’s actual lives.

Picture Credit: Poparazzi

Final June, the corporate confirmed its $15 million Collection A increase led by Benchmark’s Sarah Tavel, who beat out a16z for the deal. The startup had beforehand raised $2 million in seed funding, led by Floodgate, in a spherical that included different traders like SV Angel, Shrug Capital and numerous angels. On the time, Poparazzi stated its funds would give its workforce of 15 a runway of over two years.

However quickly, there have been indicators that Poparazzi’s time may very well be coming to an finish.

In August 2022, TechCrunch noticed the workforce was now dabbling with a brand new app, Made with Mates, that supplied a twist on Poparazzi’s authentic idea of social networking profiles crafted by a consumer’s associates. Made with Mates as an alternative requested its customers to put up all kinds of content material to their associates’ profiles, not simply photographs. For instance, they might put up text-based content material like solutions to questions or prompts, in addition to movies. The app had been obtainable as a pre-release at the moment, nevertheless it’s since been faraway from the App Retailer someday after March 26 of this 12 months, app intelligence agency Apptopia confirmed to TechCrunch.

Utilization for Poparrazi had additionally been slowing post-launch, the agency famous. It estimated there have been 6.2 million lifetime installs for the app, nevertheless it now has solely round 2,000-3,000 month-to-month energetic customers (MAUs) after reaching a peak of 4 million MAUs beforehand.

In its weblog put up, Poparrazi didn’t verify its future plans, if any, solely noting the upcoming shutdown and thanking its group and supporters.

“We’ve been extremely blessed to work with a tremendous workforce of passionate designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs to assist deliver this motion to life. And none of this might have been attainable with out the backing from essentially the most supportive, world-class group of traders,” wrote Alex Ma, within the announcement. “To our group, we’re so grateful for the help and perception that you’ve got proven us all through our journey. Your enthusiasm and keenness for Poparazzi has been the driving drive behind every part we’ve finished. Thanks from the underside of our hearts.”

TTYL Inc. has been requested for remark. Alex Ma responded, after publication, that whereas the corporate didn’t have an official assertion to share, they might verify it was winding down and can be returning capital to traders. The workforce, nonetheless, will keep collectively and work on different tasks.

Up to date 5/1/23, 8:53 pm et with firm response.