[ad_1]
An iOS app intended to help partiers find clandestine parties during the pandemic has been plucked from Apple’s App Store platform.
The recently launched Vybe Together app, which featured the tagline “Turn on your rebel,” was removed this week by Apple after a New York Times reporter tweeted about its existence. The app provided a platform for users to host events, and venue addresses were sent to approved guests about two hours before the start time, according to The Verge.
The app received unwanted media exposure on Tuesday (December 29), when New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz tweeted, “Terrible People created a comprehensive app to find and promote large indoor house parties that are not safe for COVID and are using TikTok to market it to millions of people.”
According to The Verge, the app’s official TikTok account was also closed. The Verge said that a person who identified himself as a co-founder of Vybe told them that the app had a few thousand users and that the company had received a few thousand more apps since it started posting videos to a mass entertainment platform. TikTok told The Verge that the app’s account only had 139 followers when it was removed.
Later, Vybe told The Verge that the app was not intended to promote unsafe behavior.
“Vybe Together was [a minimum viable product] designed to help other people organize small gatherings in parks or apartments during COVID, ”said a spokesperson for Vybe. “We never threw big parties and we made an exaggerated marketing video that left the wrong impression on our intentions, which has since been removed. We do not tolerate large unsafe parties during a pandemic. “
Heightened concern over the growing second wave of COVID-19 infections is causing some governments to take more strident action.
On Tuesday, CNN reported that Spain will keep a registry of those who reject the vaccine and share it with other nations of the European Union. Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa said that COVID-19 vaccines will not be mandatory, but that the government will follow up. Illa said the record, due to privacy concerns, would not be made public.
Meanwhile, the ongoing pandemic is wearing down consumer confidence.
According to a consumer confidence survey by The Conference Board, consumer confidence fell in December, falling to 88.6 from a possible 100 points from 92.9 in November. The figure is intended to reflect the attitudes and purchasing plans of consumers in various economic and demographic categories.
——————————
NEW PYMNTS DATA: THE DECEMBER 2020 SUBSCRIPTION GROUPING REPORT
About: The PYMNTS Subscription Bundling Report surveyed a census-balanced panel of 2,962 US consumers to assess how their attitudes toward bundled subscription services have changed during the pandemic, especially those offered by companies in the broadcasting sector. The report also examines how the knowledge that a COVID-19 vaccine will soon be available across the United States could affect their perceptions.
[ad_2]
