For years, our social media experiences have been dominated by Big Tech players like Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Google (YouTube), Snapchat, TikTok, and X. But a growing number of startups are taking aim at these giants by building new, often smaller and more personal social networking experiences to connect people with friends, interests, and tighter-knit communities.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking for a way to extricate yourself from the grip of traditional social media and Big Tech products in general, there are a number of interesting alternatives available. Many of them cater to Gen Z and younger, a group that\u2019s often more willing to build their social networks within new spaces compared to people with well-established networks that sit on aging platforms.<\/p>\n
Below are some of our favorites, all of which are worth a download.<\/p>\n
Retro<\/h2>\nImage Credits:<\/strong>Romain Dillet \/ TechCrunch<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nRetro<\/a> is a thoughtfully designed photo-sharing app<\/a> focused on building connections with friends in a more private format. Created by two former Instagram team members, Nathan Sharp and Ryan Olson, the app offers simple ways to share photos with the people in your life who matter, as well as others that help you reconnect with your own memories<\/a>. You can select certain photos to highlight every week, dump photos into albums, and find and follow others via search features. You also have your own user profile that includes privacy controls that allow you to choose which of your friends can see more than your most recent month\u2019s worth of photos. <\/p>\nRetro: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a><\/p>\nCosmos<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cosmos.jpg?w=680\")
Image Credits:<\/strong>Cosmos<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAre you the creative type who\u2019s sick of the AI slop on Pinterest? Another app, Cosmos<\/a>, could offer an escape. Dubbed a \u201cspace for inspiration,\u201d Cosmos allows you to search by color, keyword, or image, to shape a profile based on your taste. You can also follow friends and other tastemakers and collaborate with others on collections. Overall, the app is a bit more elevated than Pinterest, and it can also be used to shop for interesting products that match your style.<\/p>\nCosmos: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a><\/p>\nIndigo<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/indigo.jpg?w=680\")
Image Credits:<\/strong>Soapbox Software (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nLooking to get off X but don\u2019t know which decentralized social network to choose \u2014 Mastodon or Bluesky? Indigo\u2019s<\/a> app solves that problem by offering a single app where you can participate in both networks<\/a> at once. The app offers a unified timeline and a composer that lets you cross-post to both services at once, access to your custom feeds, and tons of personalization tools and configuration settings. The app has some polish, having been co-created<\/a> by Ben McCarthy, who also developed the\u00a0Obscura line of apps and others<\/a>, alongside freelance iOS designer Aaron Vegh.<\/p>\nIndigo: iOS only<\/a><\/p>\nCorner<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/corner.jpg?w=680\")
Image Credits:<\/strong>Corner International Inc.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nCorner<\/a> says it best, calling its app \u201cGoogle Maps but social,\u201d which is an apt description. The company has a growing community of some 125,000+ users who curate their favorite places both locally and abroad into lists that they can \u201cgatekeep\u201d or make public for others to discover. With a definite Gen Z vibe, this isn\u2019t just a place to find \u201cgood restaurants near me,\u201d but to uncover unique lists, like those focused on where you can find the best dumplings, queer nightlife, live jazz spots, places to dance that aren\u2019t clubs, indie bookshops, and anything else you want to categorize, organize, and recommend. The app also provides a personalized map where you can view your favorite places, those you want to try, other people\u2019s suggestions, and more. It\u2019s like Google Maps if someone from 2026 designed it. <\/p>\nCorner: iOS only<\/a><\/p>\nDivine<\/h2>\n![\"diVine](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/divine-featured-img.webp?w=680\")
Image Credits:<\/strong>Divine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIf you\u2019re still missing Vine (thanks a lot, Twitter<\/a>), you\u2019ll want to download the reboot<\/a> called Divine<\/a>. Enterprising developer Evan Henshaw-Plath, an early Twitter employee, imported the Vine archive into his team\u2019s new app, which aims to offer a home for short-form video creators. The app hosts roughly 500,000 videos from nearly 100,000 original Vine creators and allows users to make their own six-second videos once again. Several early Vine creators have returned to the app, as well, like\u00a0Lele Pons<\/a>,\u00a0JimmyHere<\/a>,\u00a0MightyDuck<\/a>, and\u00a0Jack and Jack<\/a>, among others. The project also has financial backing from Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey\u2019s nonprofit, \u201cand Other Stuff<\/a>,\u201d which aims to back open source social projects. <\/p>\nDivine: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>\/Web<\/a><\/p>\nMesh <\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-03-at-2.19.57-PM.jpg?w=680\")
Image Credits:<\/strong>Mesh\/Automattic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhile not exactly a social network in the sense that it\u2019s a platform for connecting directly, Mesh<\/a> is a helpful tool to throw into your lineup of networking apps. The app is something like an address book on steroids, as it lets you track what people in your network \u2014 personal, professional, and otherwise \u2014 have been up to, by tracking LinkedIn or X bio changes, posts, publications, and more. Plus, Mesh provides tools allowing you to reach out and reconnect on a cadence you configure, somewhat like a personal CRM. Acquired<\/a> by WordPress.com owner Automattic in 2025 (when it was then known as Clay), Mesh plans to offer deeper integrations with Automattic\u2019s universal messaging app<\/a>, Beeper<\/a> \u2014 which, by the way, you should download too.<\/p>\nMesh: iOS<\/a>\/Desktop<\/a>\/Web<\/a><\/p>\nFable <\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fable.jpg?w=680\")
Screenshot<\/span>Image Credits:<\/strong>Fable<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBook club community app Fable<\/a> recently got an upgrade that makes it worth another look, even if it\u2019s not your main book tracker. The company is now offering a bundled service<\/a> with digital reading subscription provider Everand<\/a> (as they\u2019re both owned by Scribd), which offers access to 1.5 million ebooks and audiobooks from the major publishers and more. Your ratings and reviews then sync over to Fable, where you can also see the recommendations from others and join virtual book clubs. Goodreads who?<\/em><\/p>\nTo be fair, there are so many book trackers to choose from these days that it\u2019s hard to narrow things down. I personally also enjoy Bookshelf<\/a>, Reading Journey <\/a>(which has a great widget), Margins<\/a>, TBR<\/a>, and PageBound<\/a>, but there are even more! We truly have a wealth of choices in this space, so why not just download them all?<\/p>\nFable: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a><\/p>\nLocket<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LocketRollcallPhone.jpg?w=680\")
Image Credits:<\/strong>Locket<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nLocket<\/a> is one of the pioneers of the idea to put your friends directly on your iPhone\u2019s Home Screen. The social app offers a live widget that updates as your friends upload new photos or messages, which you can respond to through a lightweight chat option. You can also engage in weekly photo dumps, follow your favorite artists<\/a>, and more. <\/p>\nLocket: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a><\/p>\nAirbuds<\/h2>\n![\"screenshots](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cover.jpg?w=680\")
Image Credits:<\/strong>Airbuds<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nApple and Spotify never got social networks built around music right, but Airbuds<\/a> seems to have done it. The app is a social network where you share what you\u2019re streaming <\/a>with your friends, then builds on top of that functionality to offer a range of other features. You can react to your friends\u2019 music choices with emojis, stickers, or selfies, play clips of your friends\u2019 recently streamed songs, message friends, configure your profile with favorite bands, or engage in music-related activities like music quizzes, getting your music style roasted, or finding out which friend has matching musical taste, to name a few.<\/p>\nAirbuds: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a><\/p>\nThe Mall<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/the-mall-ios.jpg?w=680\")
Image Credits:<\/strong>The Mall<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nNewly launched app<\/a> The Mall<\/a> turns online shopping into a social experience. The app offers a universal feed for following updates and new releases from your favorite brands, largely fashion \u2014 though you can add others that have an online e-commerce storefront. Plus, you can visit friends\u2019 profiles to see what sort of items are in their collections and \u201cmall\u201d and get inspiration and recommendations of other brands you might like, based on your tastes and style.<\/p>\nThe Mall: iOS<\/a> (waitlist) <\/p>\nShelf<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/shelf.jpg?w=680\")
Image Credits:<\/strong>Shelf<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nShelf\u2019s<\/a> central idea is to offer you a way to organize your taste \u2014 meaning the music, movies, TV shows, books, and other things you\u2019re into. By doing so, Shelf lets you learn more about yourself, get personalized recaps, dive into trend breakdowns, and more. But a social element comes into play here, too, because you can browse friends\u2019 shelves as sources of discovery and inspiration. Plus, unlike much of traditional social media, Shelf is private by default because it\u2019s not about gaining clout; it\u2019s about keeping a history of your own digital life and interests, and that of your friends.<\/p>\nShelf: iOS<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nWhen you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n
Retro<\/a> is a thoughtfully designed photo-sharing app<\/a> focused on building connections with friends in a more private format. Created by two former Instagram team members, Nathan Sharp and Ryan Olson, the app offers simple ways to share photos with the people in your life who matter, as well as others that help you reconnect with your own memories<\/a>. You can select certain photos to highlight every week, dump photos into albums, and find and follow others via search features. You also have your own user profile that includes privacy controls that allow you to choose which of your friends can see more than your most recent month\u2019s worth of photos. <\/p>\n Retro: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a><\/p>\n Are you the creative type who\u2019s sick of the AI slop on Pinterest? Another app, Cosmos<\/a>, could offer an escape. Dubbed a \u201cspace for inspiration,\u201d Cosmos allows you to search by color, keyword, or image, to shape a profile based on your taste. You can also follow friends and other tastemakers and collaborate with others on collections. Overall, the app is a bit more elevated than Pinterest, and it can also be used to shop for interesting products that match your style.<\/p>\n Cosmos: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a><\/p>\n Looking to get off X but don\u2019t know which decentralized social network to choose \u2014 Mastodon or Bluesky? Indigo\u2019s<\/a> app solves that problem by offering a single app where you can participate in both networks<\/a> at once. The app offers a unified timeline and a composer that lets you cross-post to both services at once, access to your custom feeds, and tons of personalization tools and configuration settings. The app has some polish, having been co-created<\/a> by Ben McCarthy, who also developed the\u00a0Obscura line of apps and others<\/a>, alongside freelance iOS designer Aaron Vegh.<\/p>\n Indigo: iOS only<\/a><\/p>\n Corner<\/a> says it best, calling its app \u201cGoogle Maps but social,\u201d which is an apt description. The company has a growing community of some 125,000+ users who curate their favorite places both locally and abroad into lists that they can \u201cgatekeep\u201d or make public for others to discover. With a definite Gen Z vibe, this isn\u2019t just a place to find \u201cgood restaurants near me,\u201d but to uncover unique lists, like those focused on where you can find the best dumplings, queer nightlife, live jazz spots, places to dance that aren\u2019t clubs, indie bookshops, and anything else you want to categorize, organize, and recommend. The app also provides a personalized map where you can view your favorite places, those you want to try, other people\u2019s suggestions, and more. It\u2019s like Google Maps if someone from 2026 designed it. <\/p>\n Corner: iOS only<\/a><\/p>\n If you\u2019re still missing Vine (thanks a lot, Twitter<\/a>), you\u2019ll want to download the reboot<\/a> called Divine<\/a>. Enterprising developer Evan Henshaw-Plath, an early Twitter employee, imported the Vine archive into his team\u2019s new app, which aims to offer a home for short-form video creators. The app hosts roughly 500,000 videos from nearly 100,000 original Vine creators and allows users to make their own six-second videos once again. Several early Vine creators have returned to the app, as well, like\u00a0Lele Pons<\/a>,\u00a0JimmyHere<\/a>,\u00a0MightyDuck<\/a>, and\u00a0Jack and Jack<\/a>, among others. The project also has financial backing from Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey\u2019s nonprofit, \u201cand Other Stuff<\/a>,\u201d which aims to back open source social projects. <\/p>\n Divine: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>\/Web<\/a><\/p>\n While not exactly a social network in the sense that it\u2019s a platform for connecting directly, Mesh<\/a> is a helpful tool to throw into your lineup of networking apps. The app is something like an address book on steroids, as it lets you track what people in your network \u2014 personal, professional, and otherwise \u2014 have been up to, by tracking LinkedIn or X bio changes, posts, publications, and more. Plus, Mesh provides tools allowing you to reach out and reconnect on a cadence you configure, somewhat like a personal CRM. Acquired<\/a> by WordPress.com owner Automattic in 2025 (when it was then known as Clay), Mesh plans to offer deeper integrations with Automattic\u2019s universal messaging app<\/a>, Beeper<\/a> \u2014 which, by the way, you should download too.<\/p>\n Mesh: iOS<\/a>\/Desktop<\/a>\/Web<\/a><\/p>\n Book club community app Fable<\/a> recently got an upgrade that makes it worth another look, even if it\u2019s not your main book tracker. The company is now offering a bundled service<\/a> with digital reading subscription provider Everand<\/a> (as they\u2019re both owned by Scribd), which offers access to 1.5 million ebooks and audiobooks from the major publishers and more. Your ratings and reviews then sync over to Fable, where you can also see the recommendations from others and join virtual book clubs. Goodreads who?<\/em><\/p>\n To be fair, there are so many book trackers to choose from these days that it\u2019s hard to narrow things down. I personally also enjoy Bookshelf<\/a>, Reading Journey <\/a>(which has a great widget), Margins<\/a>, TBR<\/a>, and PageBound<\/a>, but there are even more! We truly have a wealth of choices in this space, so why not just download them all?<\/p>\n Fable: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a><\/p>\n Locket<\/a> is one of the pioneers of the idea to put your friends directly on your iPhone\u2019s Home Screen. The social app offers a live widget that updates as your friends upload new photos or messages, which you can respond to through a lightweight chat option. You can also engage in weekly photo dumps, follow your favorite artists<\/a>, and more. <\/p>\n Locket: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a><\/p>\n Apple and Spotify never got social networks built around music right, but Airbuds<\/a> seems to have done it. The app is a social network where you share what you\u2019re streaming <\/a>with your friends, then builds on top of that functionality to offer a range of other features. You can react to your friends\u2019 music choices with emojis, stickers, or selfies, play clips of your friends\u2019 recently streamed songs, message friends, configure your profile with favorite bands, or engage in music-related activities like music quizzes, getting your music style roasted, or finding out which friend has matching musical taste, to name a few.<\/p>\n Airbuds: iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a><\/p>\n Newly launched app<\/a> The Mall<\/a> turns online shopping into a social experience. The app offers a universal feed for following updates and new releases from your favorite brands, largely fashion \u2014 though you can add others that have an online e-commerce storefront. Plus, you can visit friends\u2019 profiles to see what sort of items are in their collections and \u201cmall\u201d and get inspiration and recommendations of other brands you might like, based on your tastes and style.<\/p>\n The Mall: iOS<\/a> (waitlist) <\/p>\n Shelf\u2019s<\/a> central idea is to offer you a way to organize your taste \u2014 meaning the music, movies, TV shows, books, and other things you\u2019re into. By doing so, Shelf lets you learn more about yourself, get personalized recaps, dive into trend breakdowns, and more. But a social element comes into play here, too, because you can browse friends\u2019 shelves as sources of discovery and inspiration. Plus, unlike much of traditional social media, Shelf is private by default because it\u2019s not about gaining clout; it\u2019s about keeping a history of your own digital life and interests, and that of your friends.<\/p>\n Shelf: iOS<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\nCosmos<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Indigo<\/h2>\n
Corner<\/h2>\n
Divine<\/h2>\n
Mesh <\/h2>\n
Fable <\/h2>\n
Locket<\/h2>\n
Airbuds<\/h2>\n
The Mall<\/h2>\n
Shelf<\/h2>\n