As social media has evolved from a place to connect with friends into large-scale entertainment platforms, a startup called Yope<\/a> is quietly building what it believes will be the future of online connection: social networking with no algorithms, no ads, and no public content.<\/p>\n Yope\u2019s app, now backed by a $12.3 million round led by Northzone<\/a>, is taking on tech giants like Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram by building a social platform centered on what it refers to as \u201cmicro communities\u201d \u2014 or small groups where friends and family interact in private, sharing photos, videos, messages, and soon, playing games.<\/p>\n The idea of building algorithm-free, private social media is not new, but few apps have managed to scale without the addition of creator content to keep users engaged. Yope hopes to change that by encouraging connections between real-world friends, making it as much a communication tool as a place to share photos or life updates.<\/p>\n On Yope<\/a>, accounts are private by default, and there\u2019s no algorithmic feed. It\u2019s also not supported by advertising, instead focusing on developing a premium, subscription-based experience for power users.<\/p>\n Bahram Ismailau<\/a>, Yope\u2019s London-based co-founder and CEO, says the team saw the potential for a new type of social network after conducting over 100,000 interviews \u2014 aided by AI tools \u2014 to better understand how young people around the world were using social networks. They found that around 30% were using what are often called photo dump or \u201cspam\u201d accounts, where users share more candid photos with a smaller group of real-life friends.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, many people don\u2019t share anything publicly, relying instead on messaging to keep up with friends. <\/p>\n \u201c[Young people] don\u2019t have any place to self-express if they are not ready to be an influencer,\u201d Ismailau pointed out in an interview with TechCrunch. Yet teens still want to do so; they just want more privacy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe found this big opportunity to create a new space for young people to be social. We called it Yope, and it\u2019s an AI-native social platform for young people and the next generation.\u201d <\/p>\n He clarified that the team doesn\u2019t believe in using AI to create content; rather, it sees AI as a tool that can help create better connections. That includes using AI to create mini-games that you can play with your friends, a feature expected to launch in about a month. It also aims to leverage AI to help users meet up in real life, perhaps by buying tickets to an event, or finding a restaurant or bar where they can watch a football game.<\/p>\n On Yope, users create their own profiles by sharing photos, which can be turned into cut-out stickers. Instead of being organized into albums, the photos are displayed in a collage-like, almost chaotic arrangement across each user\u2019s \u201cwall.\u201d Soon, Yope users will be able to further customize their space by adding their interests, favorite music, and the mini-games, as well as customizing the look and feel with colors and wallpapers of their choosing.<\/p>\n The idea recalls Myspace, where users once carved out their own place on the web, and customized it to reflect their personalities.<\/p>\n The app also heavily borrows from existing social platforms, offering what are now-standard features like in-app messaging, recaps of top moments (Yope\u2019s are created by AI), and lock screen widgets that showcase your friends\u2019 photos. During onboarding, the app walks users through setting up its various features and granting the permissions it needs to access their photos and find their friends, encouraging them to add connections and start private chats.<\/p>\n The combination of features appears to be working \u2014 Yope now has nearly 15 million registered users, who have collectively shared between 10 million and 20 million pieces of content weekly, including individual photos, videos, or stickers. Those metrics suggest regular use. Ismailau claims more than 50% of Yope\u2019s users open the app at least five days per week, essentially making them power users.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just young people adding their friends. Ismailau says around 20% of active users have invited an older family member to join them on the app.<\/p>\n The usage attracted investor attention, Ismailau says, as Northzone approached the company, not the other way around. Northzone, which has backed other consumer apps like Spotify and Klarna, led the $12.3 million round, with participation from Inovo, Redseed, and Geek Ventures. The round brings the company\u2019s total funding to $20 million. (Yope is the result of two prior pivots \u2014 TechCrunch covered an earlier version of the company<\/a>. The current version has been in development for roughly two years.)<\/p>\n \u201cYope is a fresh, empowering and safe take on social media where the users are in full control of their experience in contrast to the predatory practices of Meta, TikTok or X,\u201d said P\u00e4r-J\u00f6rgen P\u00e4rson, partner at Northzone, in a statement. \u201cWe are very excited to partner with Bahram, Paul [Rudkouski, co-founder] and their team to build the service far beyond the current millions of users and half a billion moments shared.\u201d<\/p>\n The funding will be used to further develop the product, grow the team \u2014 now around 35 people \u2014 and establish an office in the United States. <\/p>\n Yope is a free download on iOS<\/a> and Android<\/a>.<\/p>\n Correction: Users are exchanging 10 to 20 million pieces of content weekly, not daily; the founder misspoke. We have updated the post accordingly.<\/em><\/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>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/profile.png?w=313\")
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