Is there anything more ridiculous than an app designed to host and attend parties during a global pandemic? Well Vybe Together made that nightmare a reality earlier in 2020.
The app, which promised the lowdowns on parties near you, recently gained attention from its TikTok promotion. But since gaining notoriety, it has since been removed from the App Store as of the 29 December. Although the app was extremely short-lived, it didn’t escape backlash, nor criticism on the internet for the extremely terrible idea.
The app started getting attention after it was brought to Twitter (surprise, surprise,) after New York Times Styles Reporter, Taylor Lorenz, spotted the promotional videos on TikTok. The marketing “geniuses” behind Vybe Together, posted a series of mini clips which showed maskless, sweaty people drinking and dancing together. Promotional text used in the video, described Vybe as a “secret party app” which promised users “gatherings every weekend.” Using the tag line “let’s be social”, Vybe Together promoted a New Year’s Eve party, encouraging viewers to download the app for a chance to attend.
The app, which was nicknamed the “Tinder of nightlife”, invited people to “get your rebel on” and host parties, on their website (which is somehow still knocking about and awaiting the return of Vybe Together.) Although many of us miss a night out, playing beer pong and kissing strangers is the last thing we should be promoting in a pandemic. But Vybe Together didn’t seem to get that memo.
However, the company aren’t completely oblivious to coronavirus. On a frequently asked question page, under a heading labeled “What about Corona?”, the website stated: “We are aware that Covid is a major health problem to the country, our communities, our friends and family. If we all could just be in isolation this could actually go away. Having large scale parties is very dangerous. That is why we don’t support that. But Vybe is a compromise, no big parties but small gatherings. We could be living, at least a little during these times with Vybe.”
How Did it Work?
Vybe Together claimed that anyone could host a party, and anyone could have access to it – the only catch was that the host could either grant or deny people access after a request to attend the party was made. Then two hours before the event, the app would reveal the exact address of said party.
Vybe Together has been found to be a rebrand of another short lived app called WeTrendies which launched in 2019. Mic found that on Vybe’s Instagram account, there was a saved story called “WeTrendies” which contained content linking Trendies to Vybe.
In May 2020, a video uploaded to a YouTube account associated with WeTrendies, showed a video of a sizeable gathering of people partying within close proximity of one another. It appears that footage from this video was also used in promotional material for Vybe Together.
Both apps are the creation of Alexander Dimcevski. But the app has faced further scrutiny of its promotion of the Zamna Music Festival, hosted in Tulum, Mexico, from December 31st to January 17th. It seems strange that an app that Dimcevski coined as a tool to help organise “small get togethers”, was promoting a 2.5 week festival, attracting thousands of tourists.
The Problem with Zamna
The festival has been condemned by health experts, and has since postponed its events til April 2021. Following a five-day festival called Art With Me hosted in Tulum back in November, the event was labelled as a superspreader. At least 17 Americans tested positive for COVID.
Vybe Together may truly be the most insensitive and ill-timed app of 2020 as the pandemic still rages on, and the death toll increases daily.
