Introducing Lapse - the shared disposable camera for friends not followers šø
This story is from 2021 ā see our latest post here
Today we are proud to announce that Lapse, our new photo sharing app, launches out of stealth mode to more than 150,000 people worldwide.
*EDIT* We hit #1 in the UK & US app store charts on launch š
Lapse is now invite only. Whilst Lapse is for everyone, to ensure the best experience for all, weāre doing a controlled roll out.
Existing members get 5 invites to bring on others. Photographers, journalists and the creative community can apply in app for instant access. Everyone else is welcome to reserve their username in app and join the waitlist š§”
Social media has become part of our daily rituals. But in a world so connected, we often see other peopleās lives as the benchmark for our own happiness.
Todayās social media giants compel us to curate our lives for likes from strangers and to compete with friends for followers. Weāve been so caught up in that game, we forgot the real reason we signed up in the first place.
Taking and sharing photos wasnāt always like thisā¦
In February 2019, I backpacked around Vietnam with a good friend of mine, Tim, who lent me a point & shoot film camera. I ended the trip with a million mosquito bites, some questionable tan lines, and 5 rolls of film which I couldnāt wait to develop. After I got home I had the film processed and was the new proud owner of some of the most treasured pictures Iāve ever taken.
Film hits different
Not being able to review your shots after you take them made it more about enjoying the moment, rather than trying to showcase it. Seeing all your photos as a batch for the first time helped to relive the full spectrum of those moments. And of course, that retro film look which allowed even the worst of photographers (me) to take beautiful photos.
All these things are missing from the curated ultra-control of modern photography.
So our small but passionate team of product obsessives, professional photographers, prodigy software engineers, AWS Serverless Heroes, and serial entrepreneurs have worked tirelessly to recreate that magic in a way which friends can experience together, without the economical, logistical, and environmental cost.
How it works šļø
Start a private group chat with your close friends. The chat functions like a normal chat with two key twists:
- Every chat group has a ārollā of 36 shots which anyone in the group can snap to
- No one can see the photos until 24 hours after the first shot was taken
At this point the ārollā is dropped into the chat in an animated montage called a Lapse. Everyone in the roll can relive the memories of their photos in a shared, social way ā similar to picking your photos up from the processing lab. From there, you can react, comment, or save and export selected photos or full Lapses from the app.
Our photos are processed āin appā using a proprietary film processing engine which has been developed and tested with more than 30 professional film photographers from around the world and uses the latest computational imaging technology.
Lapse doesnāt let you review, edit, or curate in ways that other platforms encourage. The results are spontaneous and authentic moments shared privately between friends, not followers.
Live in the moment with Lapse
Weāve been crafting Lapse with a community of 10,000 beta testers. Weāve spent countless hours on Zoom talking to them, rebuilt the app twice, honed our processing, and ordered more late night Deliveroos than our waistlines would thank us for. But it seems to be paying off: by removing the pressures of public sharing, people are living in the moment and expressing their authentic selves.
In under a month, our beta members have shared nearly 100,000 photos, with some members snapping between 50 and 100 photos every week.
Weāre remaining tight and product-focused šÆ
We see a bifurcation in the social space. At one end of the spectrum you have the āpublicā social platforms which are increasingly becoming creator- and influencer-dominated (e.g. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Patreon, etc.) We realise you cannot build the next generation of social apps for friends using an antiquated public blueprint. Our vision is to become the go-to place for the other end of the social spectrum, where sharing isnāt simply for show. This more relaxed and intimate shared space is currently an under-served void which has led many of us to co-opt Instagram to create finstagrams.
Weāre creating a private space to capture and share meaningful moments amongst close friends
The last 6 months has seen a flurry of new photo-sharing apps hit the market, most of them putting a twist on an Instagram-style feed in an attempt to differentiate themselves from the existing major social networks, whilst chasing topline user growth.
Lapse is different
For this reason, Lapse is invite-only. Weāre onboarding the 150,000 members who pre-installed Lapse and those who are in the creative industries first. Anyone on Lapse can also bring in up to 5 friends. This is so we ensure our focus is on building the best possible experience for our core members. If you fall outside this group, you are more than welcome to reserve your username on the app and join the waitlist. Itās worth the wait, but donāt just take our word for it:
Love Ben
and the rest of Team Lapse š§”
For media & press enquiries please contact my brother & co-founder: dan@lapse.com
