In 2023, the average person spends 2 hours and 32 minutes daily on social media. Yubo is a live social discovery app with the tagline “Get friends. Get real. Go live.” And it’s meeting the wants of Generation Z. Composed of people born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z accounts for 99% of Yubo users. One must be at least 13 to sign up for the platform.
Gen Z’s social media needs differ significantly from those of other generations, including millennials and Generation X. Zoomers want authentic connections and engaging content. They like that Yubo eliminated traditional approval metrics such as follower counts, likes, and comments. That means the live social discovery app makes it easy to find friends with similar interests without the pressure of performance.
The app is focused on helping its users establish new friendships, unlike many traditional social media platforms that encourage users to strengthen existing relationships. It’s a fun way to bring together people from different countries and backgrounds who might never meet in real life.
The social discovery app was founded in France and has users located in more than 140 countries.
In October 2015, Sacha Lazimi, Jérémie Aouate, and Arthur Patora launched a simple app to find friends on Snapchat. The app’s CEO and co-founder Lazimi said it was created “because we wanted to improve the way people were interacting with each other online.”
Mission accomplished. Since Yubo’s launch to 2019, approximately 10 billion messages have been sent on the platform, and it has hosted 20 million livestreams. To date, the company has raised over $65 million in funding.
“Within a year, we reached 5 million users,” Lazimi said. “From there, we developed what is now Yubo [because] we want to empower young people to socialize and create friendships in the digital world, the same way they would in real life.”
Go Live. Have Fun. Make Friends
For those unfamiliar with live social discovery apps, it’s essential to understand that Yubo connects users in real time while they’re active on the platform. That gives users the ability to make immediate connections with others. Gen Z looks for immediacy, especially in their interactions with each other, so the live discovery app was created with that in mind.
The app, available on Android and iOS, mimics how connections are established in the real world. It allows users to engage in conversation with other users in livestreams and become friends organically. Locating like-minded people is easy because users can add tags to their profiles to highlight their interests and find friends worldwide based on shared passions. The app has over 8 million tags that range from sports and food to pop culture and literature.
According to a study by advertising insights agency Bigeye, 50% of Generation Z respondents believe that binary gender labels and traditional gender roles are outdated. Diversity is embraced and empowered by the live social discovery app, which has 50 different pronouns and 35 genders to select so users can best identify themselves. The app considers the feedback from its LGBTQ+ users as it continues to create a safe and inclusive space HYPERLINK “https://www.yubo.live/blog/gender-and-gen-z” for everyone.
It also works to group its users based on age and makes it easy for users to filter profiles for locations and gender. It features direct messaging and a swiping feature that allows users to quickly swipe left or right on the profiles of other users in their age group. Swipe left to skip a profile and right to send a friend request. When both users swipe yes, they can begin exchanging messages.
In addition to having a user-friendly, easy-to-navigate interface, the social media platform gets rave reviews for its customizable livesteaming capabilities. When someone goes live, they can invite up to 10 people to join the stream. But the amount of viewers is unlimited.
While the majority of livestreamers like to hang out in small groups to make new friends, there are many different ways to livestream on the social discovery app. Some members take a solo approach to livestreaming, such as comedians, storytellers, singers, and songwriters. Others prefer inviting guests and hosting talent shows, game nights, and meet and greets.
Yubo: Safety Is the Cornerstone of the Platform
Safety is a central part of the live social discovery app’s experience for its 75 million users. Its original approach, in conjunction with a dedicated safety team, industry-leading mechanisms, and leading nonprofit partners, along with an independent safety board, to keep its users safe.
Lazimi stated, “We are looking forward to identifying new metrics and tracking progress on a year-over-year basis to understand how we can continue to improve our safety framework to ensure we stay true to our commitment to being a leader in online safety.”
The app strives to be a place where Gen Zers can be young and convey their true selves with crucial safeguards. That’s why the app teamed up with Yoti, the digital identity provider, to implement age estimation protocols on Yubo.
“Yubo understands the immense challenge of ensuring that their community remains safe,” said Robin Tombs, Yoti CEO. “We are proud to collaborate with [the live social discovery app] to help safeguard young people and create age-appropriate experiences online.”
Lazimi said the platform’s “mission is to create a space online where young people are empowered to socialize and create friendships in a safe environment.” He stressed that the app “is a space where anyone can belong. We socially inspire and enable new generations to find out about the world and themselves.”
The app aims to teach Gen Z, especially its youngest members, about online safety best practices, including such methods as pop-up alerts to help users rethink sending a message that could contain identifiable information. It also regularly updates its Yubo blog with educational information about online safety practices.
CEO Lazimi stated, “Our users are nonjudgmental and focus on having meaningful conversations on topics they care about while enjoying themselves. [Yubo] works to maintain this through prioritizing safety as well as educating users on digital literacy.”
