New app: HouseParty

Riley Rasmussen, Staff Writer

Once again a new app has began to trend. The free app HouseParty is starting to move up on the app store as more and more people start to download the app for use.

HouseParty launched in February of 2016. HouseParty creators targeted the app to be for teenage use. Statistics show that 60 percent of HouseParty users are under the age of 24. The app was created by a company called Meerkat, with founder Ben Rubin and co-founder Sima Sistani. HouseParty reached up to number three on the top apps on the App Store chart back in May of 2016. Others have noticed that once one person downloads HouseParty, they invite and stress for others to join them in using the app. This helps the app bring in more users and has contributed to the app’s popularity.

HouseParty is a mobile group video chat app that allows up to 8 people to talk and video chat each other in a group. Users are able to add and friend people they know and are able to video chat with them. Once users add someone, they are able to see when that person comes on the app and is ready to video chat with others. Also, users can see the group video chat that the people they have friended are in at that moment and can join them and the other people in that chat. For privacy while video chatting, if users and their friends do not want anyone else to join their video chat, they are able to lock the room. This will prevent people from coming into the video chat room while all users are on it. All users are able to leave and join conversations whenever they want.