Apple tends to figure out ways to kill popular apps, but this time, someone else has done the work for them. Midas Touch app maker Nikita Bier announced his new product on Wednesday. which is an app called blast That brings missing messages directly into iMessage. Have people check in on Snapchat and see how they feel.
Explode is pretty simple: it lets anyone with the app send messages and photos with a limited viewing window. When they are gone, they are healed. There's also no need for both parties to install the app to use it. Only the sender needs to install the app. And they can choose how long their message or image will last.
Ladies and gentlemen I'm happy to announce my latest app:
Introducing the bomb
· Send messages and photos that disappear within iMessage.
· Only the sender needs the app: drop them into your chat.
· Screenshots are also blocked.Why did we create it? Explode is a disgusting app, yes… pic.twitter.com/mGwmoN28T8
– Nikita Beer (@nikitabier) January 14, 2025
Even though the app is free to download, But it does have paid premium features. For $39.99 per year or $7.99 per month, users can subscribe to Explode+ to receive screenshot notifications. Block screenshots from being taken Check the messages they sent previously. and lock viewing of images after sending so they can be used
If that sounds an awful lot like Snapchat and its premium option, Snapchat+, that's entirely intentional. Bier described Explode as a “disgusting app,” a response to a bad experience he had with Snapchat.
“Two years ago, I met with the CEO of Snapchat to discuss buying my previous company. I openly share how fast we are growing. Just one week later Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Snapchat kicked our app off the SnapKit platform and immediately halted our growth,” Bier. write On Twitter, “As Genghis Khan once said: The greatest happiness is defeating enemies. plunder their wealth and saw them bathing in tears.”
Bier has extensive experience dealing with major players in technology. He first sold an anonymous polling app called tbh to Facebook. It gathers more than two million users daily.– His second big foray into app gaming, an anonymous compliment app called Gas, was Sold to Discord. After reaching seven million downloads And based on the timeline Bier gave of his Snapchat beef, it's likely the app he was talking to the company about.
So, can Explode really hurt Snapchat's user base? There's quite good reason to be skeptical. The temporary nature of disappearing messages and photos is, without a doubt, Snapchat's selling point. The gamification of those communications also helps people. Snapchat Streaks, a record for the number of days two people send messages back and forth Real social capital among teenagersLike Snapchat trophies and friendship badges, they are determined based on how often users interact with each other.
Snapchat's secret sauce isn't disappearing messages. This has been successfully replicated by every app at this point, including Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Telegram. It's the appeal of social gaming that definitely is. Not good for general well-being of people obsessed with measuring friendships But it's probably good for Snapchat's longevity.