MeWe and CloutHub, here are the apps that are becoming popular in the US
Not only Signal and Telegram alternative to WhatsApp. MeWe and CloutHub are also among the most downloaded apps in the US in recent days as replacements for Facebook and Twitter
After the boom of Telegram and Signal (due to the WhatsApp privacy update) other social networks are enjoying new life.
Apps like MeWe and CloutHub are at the top of the app storesfollowing the blackout of Donald Trump's account from traditional social platforms like Facebook and Twitter and the most recent removal of the Parler app from both the App Store and Google Play, after the assault on the Capitol on 6 January. With Parler offline because Amazon has disabled the servers that hosted it, other platforms rise to the fore, especially thanks to the migration of the American ultra-right.
In the days following the Parler ban, alternative social networks to Facebook and Twitter (and with milder content moderation policies) are seeing a significant number of new downloads, TechCrunch reported.
Here's what the MeWe and CloutHub apps are and how they work.
WHAT IS MEWE SOCIAL NETWORK
MeWe, self-proclaimed “the new generation social network” founded in May 2012 as a beta and then launched in 2016, is one of those that are registering the greatest increase in new downloads.
To date, MeWe has recorded over 16 million global installations for life, according to data from app intelligence firm Apptopia.
NO ADVERTISING, YES PRIVACY
"No advertising, no targeting, no facial recognition and no manipulation of the news stream." This is what MeWe promises, which defines itself as the social newwork of the future and the anti-Facebook because, in its opinion, it protects privacy more.
HOW THE SOCIAL-ALTERNATIVE TO FACEBOOK WORKS
On MeWe users can see their connection posts in real time, chat, make live video and voice posts.
POPULAR AMONG TRUMP SUPPORTERS
The platform has over 5 million users. Let's be clear: it was not born for the conservative right, but many users of this political front have started signing up after Facebook and Twitter have increased the squeeze in the moderation of content posted on the platforms.
The social networking service has therefore grown in popularity among Trump supporters already in the months leading up to the presidential election.
WHO IS THE FOUNDER AND CEO
In 1998, entrepreneur Mark Weinstein created a very first social networking site called SuperGroups, which was shut down by his investors in 2001. In 2011, Weinstein started a new online business venture called Sgrouples which ultimately led to the creation by MeWe. Mark Weinstein is the current CEO.
DOWNLOAD BOOM FOR MEWE
As we said, since Wednesday last week the app has been downloaded almost 200,000 times around the world. Most of these new downloads come from US users, who have made nearly 143,000 installations. From Saturday to Sunday alone, MeWe obtained over 110,200 new installations in the United States. The company told TechCrunch on Monday that it had registered 1 million new members in the past 72 hours.
THE CLIMBING OF THE APP STORE RANKINGS
As TechCrunch reported, as app store rankings reflect not only total downloads but also the speed of these new installs, MeWe has gained a top 10 position very quickly due to recent trends. As of Sunday, MeWe ranked sixth in the US App Store's best-ever free charts.
This is a remarkable growth for the app, given that until October MeWe was not exactly in the Top Ten of the App Store.
THERE IS ALSO THE NEW ARRIVED CLOUTHUB
Another app that has benefited from recent events, including the Parler ban, is the “newcomer” CloutHub.
The app was launched in January 2019 and claims to be a social network for “social, civic and political networking” with a free speech angle.
To date, CloutHub has only recorded 255,000 total lifetime installations, but more than 31,000 of these have occurred in the last week or, more precisely, since last Wednesday. The app is currently at number 11 in the US App Store.
CloutHub has enjoyed a surge in interest in the past few days. Since the siege on Capitol Hill, the app has recorded a 472% growth in downloads (MeWe by 244%) according to the chart made by Axios from Apptopia data. Data from Google Trends also indicates increased interest in the site in the United States through its search query analysis.
"THE PLATFORM OF THE PEOPLE"
On its website, CloutHub says it wants to offer "a platform for everyone to make their voice heard."
Founded in 2018 by Jeff Brian, CloutHub aims to be the “people's platform” for users engaged in political, social and community activism.
THERE IS ALSO GAB NEWS, EXCHANGED FOR THE GAB BANDITA
Meanwhile, an app called "Gab News" is also gaining ground. As TechCrunch explains, in reality Gab News is just a local news app for the Georgetown area, which rose to prominence because it was mistaken for the long-banned “Gab” app, which former Parler users suggest as an alternative. Founded by Andrew Torba in 2016, Gab has a Twitter-like appearance and is frequented by far-right exponents including neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
The social network was banned from both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store 4 years ago. Despite this, Google Trends data shows an increase in Gab searches following Trump's suspension from Twitter on January 8. The CrowdTangle company, which tracks public interactions like likes, comments, and shares on public Facebook posts, also shows an increase in interactions on posts mentioning Gab. He has logged over 290,000 interactions on these posts since Sunday.
AND RUMBLE, THE PRESERVING ALTERNATIVE TO YOUTUBE
Finally there is Rumble. It is a video-centric social network quite similar to YouTube and TikTok which explains that users "will never be censored for political or scientific content". It started to have relevance after Biden's election and after Google and YouTube put a stop to some users.
According to TechCrunch , the app has garnered 2.4 million total global installs since its launch in January 2020, according to Apptopia estimates. As of Wednesday, that included 91,916 new downloads, over 73,700 of them in the U.S. It also rose to number 78 on the US App Store, up from number 1,484 on December 19, 2020.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/mewe-e-clouthub-ecco-le-app-che-stanno-spopolando-negli-usa/ on Wed, 13 Jan 2021 12:58:15 +0000.