New trend of using social networks of young people

Nhung said she knew about this application a few months ago. When she sends a photo of herself to someone via Locket, the app will display her photo right on the recipient’s iPhone screen.

Mai Van Tinh, 23 years old, a software engineer in Hanoi, also enthusiastically joined the new trend. “I don’t like to post photos on social networks, instead I share my moments with relatives and friends via Locket. Parents and close friends can view photos directly on the screen without needing to be screened. open the app,” he said.

Not only in Vietnam, Locket is becoming a favorite application in many places. According to Washington Post, When major social networking platforms like Snapchat or Instagram are criticized for issues related to mental health and safety, young people are looking to simpler social media.

Andrew Selepak expert at the University of Florida commented on: WSJ: “Users use these apps not to follow celebrities, or to be manipulated by algorithms for advertising purposes. The apps bring them back to the original purpose of the social network, which is Connect and share”.

After seeing Locket, 19-year-old Natalie Feliciano, who is studying cybersecurity at the University of Texas, downloaded the utility and convinced a group of close friends to use it. “Not using social networks often, I feel like Locket gives me privacy. I don’t have to receive app notifications, just unlocking my phone can see my friends’ photos,” she said.

According to WSJ, Photo apps like Locket or LiveIn attract attention because of their convenience: users simply take a photo, send it, and it immediately appears in a small window on a friend’s Home screen. Both work for free and are among the most downloaded social networking apps on the App Store.

Locket was created by Matt Moss, a student at UC Santa Barbara. He designed the app in two weeks as a birthday present for his girlfriend. The application helps students to share photos with each other without accessing any application to view.

After posting his story on TikTok, Moss’s video received more than 100,000 views in just a few days. News about Locket spread on this platform which helped the application to be downloaded more and more. According to Sensor Tower statistics, in January, the app was downloaded 6.2 million times. By the end of April, that number had grown to 15 million.

Locket is currently rated 4.8/5 stars. However, the application does not have a variety of filters or photo effects. One of the other limitations is that it is not allowed to share photos that are available from the gallery. Users must capture live photos, as the app focuses on real-time experiences with a small group of up to five people.

Meanwhile, LiveIn, launched in February, also allows receiving images through the phone’s screen. However, it does have an extra blank canvas for users to scribble words or lines on the photo before sharing. LiveIn also has a “World” feature to view public shares from people around the globe.

The interesting point of the application is to create a feeling of surprise for users when unlocking the phone because they see the latest pictures of relatives and friends. Jennifer Grygiel, a professor of social media studies, said: “This type of photo-sharing application is a unique tool to show the closeness and intimacy between senders and recipients.”

In addition to Locket and LiveIn, a number of other photo sharing utilities also started appearing this year such as WidgetPal and Comet: Live Friends Widget.

However, these applications that attract millions of users also contain security risks. According to Titania Jordan, Marketing Manager at Bark Technologies, having photos automatically appear on the screen can be surprising because there are images they don’t want to see, or feel embarrassed when someone is standing close. Jordan said, if the phone number is revealed, the bad guys can also use it to send sensitive and violent images to tease, bully and abuse through the above applications.

Nguyen Hanh