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Library/App & software/Poparazzi
Grade B21 sourcesHIS-00407

Poparazzi

App & software · 2021 · Notable

42Editable slideCertificate

The app that banned selfies reached No. 1 on the US App Store, then shut down.

Poparazzi camera, photo feed and friends-created profile, supplied in the Luciq customer case study.
Poparazzi / Luciq
Poparazzi photo app blows up by banning selfies
Josh Constine's Newsletter
poparazzi_app_placeholder
Variety
A young woman takes a picture with her phone on the beach.
Fortune
Poparazzi’s first anniversary collage of candid photos of friends.
Poparazzi / Alex Ma
Poparazzi: Testflight, Tiktok and pre-orders send app to the top in a flash
OMR
Poparazzi hits 5M+ downloads a year, confirms $15M Series A
TechCrunch
Poparazzi Is the 'Anti-Selfie' App Taking Over Social Media
PAPER
Once-hot photo-sharing app Poparazzi is shutting down | TechCrunch
TechCrunch

Spread Score

How it works
Reach40Contagion35Breadth50Velocity69Longevity1942

Numbers

Historical peak MAUs, Apptopia estimate; window unknown
4M
As of May 1, 2023 · App stores · Self-reported · TechCrunch
Peak date
Week of May 28, 2021
May 24 ’21 to Week of May 28, 2021
Platforms
7
Started on App stores
Origin
Mixed
Technology

Mechanics

  • TransgressionPrimary
  • Shareable output
  • Platform jump
  • Press loop
  • Controversy

How it spread

Trace the origin

TikTok promotion and preorders preceded Poparazzi’s public release and No. 1 chart debut. Privacy complaints and declining chart ranks followed independent reviews and investor posts. It announced closure in 2023; Meta later hired four staffers.

Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

Google searchesJan ’21MarJunAugDecMay ’22JulSepFeb ’23JunAugPeakApp storesTikTokXPressRedditOpen webRetail
App storesTikTokXPressRedditOpen webRetail

14 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (17)

  1. February 2021

    Alex and Austen Ma precursor · Feb 2021

    The team trialled Poparazzi at a Tennessee high school through TestFlight.[1]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. Poparazzi and TikTok partners precursor · Feb 2021

    Poparazzi posted 11 TikTok videos in February to recruit beta testers.[2]

    Poparazzi: Testflight, Tiktok and pre-orders send app to the top in a flash

  3. May 2021

    TTYL / Poparazzi seed · May 24 ’21

    TTYL released Poparazzi publicly for iPhone, with profiles populated by friends.[3][4]

Changelogupdated Oct 16 ’26
  1. 2026-10-16Added 1 number · Score 47 → 42
  2. 2026-10-13Added: 16 events, 20 sources · Score 47
Origin
Mixed
Sector
Technology
Region
US
Historical peak MAUs, Apptopia estimate; window unknown
4M
As of May 1, 2023 · App stores · Self-reported · TechCrunch
Evidence
Grade B

Spread the same way

EPIK AI Yearbook

App stores · 2023

53
How I wish this was my college yearbook creative photos 😅 #photodumps #yearbookAIphotos #AI #epikapp #yearbooktrend #fyp #viral

Peaked at #1

Nano Banana

Open web · 2025

49
Google’s examples of Nano Banana figurines, retro portraits and other image trends.

Peaked at #1

Character.AI mobile app

App stores · 2023

45
Official launch graphic showing the Character.AI mobile interface and app-store badges.

22M users

Reface

App stores · 2020

45
The Viral Reface App Could Make Our Deepfake Problem Worse

20M users

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.

See every timeline

Free account, every case's full spread.

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Google searchesJan ’21MarJunAugDecMay ’22JulSepFeb ’23JunAugPeakApp storesTikTokXPressRedditOpen webRetail
App storesTikTokXPressRedditOpen webRetail

14 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

  1. February 2021

    Alex and Austen Ma precursor · Feb 2021

    The team trialled Poparazzi at a Tennessee high school through TestFlight.[1]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. Poparazzi and TikTok partners precursor · Feb 2021

    Poparazzi posted 11 TikTok videos in February to recruit beta testers.[2]

    Poparazzi: Testflight, Tiktok and pre-orders send app to the top in a flash

  3. May 2021

    TTYL / Poparazzi seed · May 24 ’21

    TTYL released Poparazzi publicly for iPhone, with profiles populated by friends.[3][4]

  1. commercial · May 24 ’21

  2. press · May 25 ’21

Join free to see the other 14 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

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Pro opens the playbook, all 13 sourced numbers and 21 sources. Start with a free account.

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