Apple has launched an American application that has encouraged users to meet in secret underground gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Vybe Together app, which promoted private parties, was removed from the Apple App Store, banned from its TikTok account and laundered most of its online presence, with the app’s creators telling The Verge that Apple has banned it.
Vybe Together billed TikTok and its website as a place to organize and participate in illegal parties, in violation of social distance laws, using the slogan “Put your rebel. Start the party. “.
“Miss playing beer pong, flirting with strangers and, in general, just having fun with the crew?” Vybe is here for you, “read the website.
Users were asked to submit a profile before they were allowed to sign up, an application process that involved sending the applicant’s Instagram handle, as well as uploading images of themselves spending time.
The application allowed people to create private events “will not appear random” to. Users could then request invitations to events, hoping that the host will find them “interesting” enough to approve.
Once on the list, guests would expect to receive location details two hours before the start time of the event.
One of the co-founders of Vybe Together said that the application has several thousand users and that several thousand additional applicants had requested access since the company started publishing videos on TikTok.
The app’s frequently asked questions page – now deleted – acknowledged that Covid-19 is “a major health issue for the country, our communities, friends and family,” but said the app was designed to promote “small gatherings.” rather than “large-scale parties,” which he described as “dangerous.”
“But Vybe is a compromise […] We could live, at least, in these times with Vybe. “
It remains unclear whether the app – which has only a few hundred followers on Instagram – has substantially instigated illegal or unsafe rallies, although it has promoted “rallies every weekend.” in a TikTok video.
The creators of Vybe Together were contacted for comments. Their Instagram account includes the message: “The App Store has taken us down !!! We will come back!!”