It appears the app’s main purpose was to organize private parties for those who missed the various social benefits of partying during the pandemic. “Miss playing beer pong, flirting with strangers, and generally just having a blast with the crew?” its website reads. “Vybe is here for you.”
Vybe attracted the attention of Lorenz yesterday after she discovered about the app organizing speakeasy-like ragers for New Year’s Eve on TikTok. Following Lorenz’s tweets, TikTok banned the account. Apple soon followed and removed the app from its store.
They’re currently in the midst of promoting secret NYE ragers in nyc pic.twitter.com/dEIdwX1DKn
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) December 29, 2020
The Daily Beast identified the app’s creator as 25-year-old Manhattanite Alexandar Dimcevski. In a statement to the website, Dimcevski wrote, “Vybe Together was an MVP designed to help other people organize small get-togethers in parks or apartments during COVID. We never hosted any large parties, and we made one over-the-top marketing video that left a wrong impression about our intentions, which has since been taken down. We do not condone large unsafe parties during a pandemic. We will release a video with us vybing about it soon.”
The Daily Beast noted that Dimcevski did not appear to be a COVID-denier, as he had promoted mask-wearing on his personal Twitter and stated on the Vybe website that COVID is a major health problem. Still, Dimcevski believed Vybe Together was a “compromise.” “No big parties but small gatherings,” the page reads. “We could be living, at least a little during these times with Vybe.”
Despite Dimcevski’s apparent good intentions, Vybe had been seeing heavy criticism before it was exposed to a wider online audience. Petitions for its removal had appeared on Reddit and Change.org after it was introduced to New York City colleges in September. Reviewers also said the app encourages college students to party and endanger other people.
On its Instagram page, Vybe Together promises it “will be back.”
Source: https://news.knowyourmeme.com/news/covid-party-planning-app-vybe-removed-from-ios-and-banned-on-tiktok