Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2018. It is a news piece describing the launch buzz around Vero, including its ranking that week, installs, hashtag trend, reviews and promises of no ads or algorithm; the features described may have changed since.
Although these days it would be hard to believe that a new app or social network could topple social media giants such as Facebook and Instagram, both controlled by Mark Zuckerberg, there is a new app called Vero that shows there’s still room for new value propositions for users. And some people think Vero could take down Instagram in the future.
The Vero app was released as a free download on Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store in 2015, but it was this week that it became the number 1 social media app for downloads, with more than 500,000 installs, while on Instagram you can see the #Vero hashtag gaining momentum. These are users with Vero accounts calling on their Instagram contacts to install the new app.
So I decided to try Vero.
What exactly is Vero and how does it work?
The first thing that caught my attention was the large number of bad reviews it had on Google’s Play Store, because of slow loading and errors when posting, something that may be due to the massive influx of new users.
Some say Vero is another Facebook; others say it’s another Instagram. From what I’ve seen, Vero is a kind of Facebook and Instagram rolled into one.
You can upload photos, with filters and editing already built in, just like Instagram. You can also upload videos and share links/articles, books and films.
The order of posts on Vero
This app shows posts in chronological order, as I suppose the other social networks did in their early days, before switching to algorithms that order posts according to other factors, such as how relevant a profile is.
In fact, the creators say this app will stand out because there will be no algorithms for posts and it will be free of advertising. I understand this could change over time, although they hint that they are thinking about a subscription model, in which the first million, or first few million, users will get the app free for life.
You can create groups ranging from close friends to friends, acquaintances and followers. Unlike on Instagram, you decide who you want to share each post with.
There are no usernames on Vero
When you sign up, you’ll be asked for your first name and surname.
It has an elegant interface that’s different from other social networks. Like Facebook, it has a chat where you can send and receive messages from other users.
When you accept a friend request or make a new connection, you can choose which group to add that new contact to and what you’re going to share with them. You can accept someone’s follow request and decide whether you want to follow that person.
Posts on Vero can be completely private, completely public or shared with selected groups of friends.
All in all, it’s hard to predict whether this app will succeed or not, or whether it will topple other apps, because that will depend on many factors, including whether it starts to build a large number of active users, since at the end of the day, people go where other people are.
But you have to admit that the value proposition is good, and that the app is simple to use and very complete.
See also: The keys to Green Cola, the company that “almost” beat Coca-Cola in Greece
Featured image: Eóin Noonan/Web Summit via Sportsfile, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
