Dispo, a new photo-sharing app that mimics the experience of using a disposable camera, is taking off. People are clamoring for invitations to test the beta version. Early adopters praise its social characteristics. And investors are betting big on its future.
In the app, users frame photos through a small rectangular viewfinder. There are no editing tools or captions; when the images “develop” – ie, hit your phone the next day at 9am – you get what you get. Several people can take pictures on the same roll, as can happen at a party with a real disposable camera.
“When I went to parties with my friends, they had disposable cameras all over the house and they urged people to take pictures all night long,” said David Dobrik, a YouTube star and founder of the app. “In the morning they gathered all the cameras and looked back at the footage and said, ‘What happened last night?’” (He used a expletive phrase to emphasize.)
He and his friends loved the serendipity of scrolling through fleeting and forgotten moments. “It would be the end of ‘The Hangover’ every morning,” said 24-year-old Mr. Dobrik. He started posting his developed photos on a dedicated Instagram account in June 2019 and soon amassed millions of followers. Other influencers and celebrities, including Tana Mongeau and Gigi Hadid, soon started their own “throwaway” accounts; their fans followed.
Dobrik felt a trend and tried to digitally recreate the disposable camera experience as an antidote to the obsession with getting the perfect shot. “You never looked at the picture, you never checked the lighting,” he said of using disposables. “You just went about your day and in the morning you have to relive it.”
In December 2019, he introduced a photo app called David’s Disposable, which allowed people to take retro-looking photos that evolved overnight. His early followers suggested the model had greater potential. So over the course of a year it evolved into Dispo, a full-fledged social network that started beta testing with the public last Friday.
While the latest version of Dispo has only been available to the public for less than a week, it’s already generating buzz. The app climbed into the Apple App Store this week. Dispo-themed discussion boards have appeared in Clubhouse. YouTubers share reviews, invitation scoring tips, and growth hacks. Just as VSCO gave rise to the VSCO girl, Dispo has produced a stable of “Dispo boys”. Some of Dispo’s photos have even appeared on the online art market as NFTs or ‘intangible tokens’.
The beta users of the app have praised its restraint. “I feel like pictures are just simpler,” said Goldie Chan, 38, the founder of Warm Robots, a social strategy agency based in Los Angeles. “Apps like Clubhouse are literally so noisy. If you have something like Dispo or VSCO just take pictures. You can capture a moment in time and let it go. “
This shift from highly curated feeds has been in the works for several years. In 2019, the rise of ‘recognizable’ YouTubers like Emma Chamberlain helped pioneer a wacky and irreverent editing style that became the standard for Gen Z. And in 2020, TikTok spawned a new wave of creators focused more on personality than perfection. .
“Where Instagram filters made everyone beautiful in 2011, TikTok filters made everyone ugly in 2021,” Rex Woodbury, a director at Index Ventures, wrote recently. “And where Instagram has given you filters to make your bad photos look good, Dispo purposely makes your good photos look worse.”
Anyha Garcia, a 31-year-old mother who stays at home in Utah, started using Dispo a week ago. She is a fan of its simplicity. “I don’t have to crop or edit it,” she said. ‘I’ll take a picture, and hopefully it will work. I can go back and look at it later instead of looking at it now and making these adjustments or worrying about taking 10 to 12 more pictures of that thing I’m trying to take a picture of. “
People have also stressed the app’s emphasis on collaboration. Insta has turned everyone into a general photographer. Dispo makes you a photographer with a purpose, ”said Terry O’Neal, 31, a brand manager in Los Angeles who uses the app. He has created several color-themed camera rolls and asked other users to help him find objects that match each theme. “That’s where the community building is, everyone is looking for the same thing through their own lens,” he said.
“The great thing with Dispo is the collaborative roles,” said Luke Yung, 31, a social media director in Los Angeles. “People find ways to be creative together. It’s like an innate competition to outdo each other in these community roles that I haven’t seen on any social network before. “
While Dispo’s photos have no captions, the comment sections of collaborating camera rolls can be vivid. There are roles where people are invited to guess the story behind each photo, or to comment with lyrics that they think fit the mood of an image. Another scroll contains photographs of handwritten notes intended to initiate conversation.
The social network has avoided the growth hacking culture with spam that often shows up in early stage apps, and the Easter eggs on display poke fun at the obsession with improving someone’s stats. Mr. Dobrik, for example, appears to have 69 million followers and photos and 420 likes on Dispo.
However, small makers’ collectives have emerged. “I created a roll called Dispo Hype Group that we added everyone to and accepted everyone’s invitation,” said Ms. Garcia. The group, which includes about 40 people, hopes to host an IRL meeting when safely possible.
Dispo has already begun to expand internationally, especially in Japan, where the company plans to open an office. Although it is currently only an eight-person company, the start-up’s rapid growth has made it an attractive target for venture capitalists.
In an October seed funding round led by Reddit co-founder Seven Seven Six, Dispo raised $ 4 million. This week, the company raised $ 20 million against a valuation of $ 200 million in a Series A funding round led by Spark Capital, according to Axios. According to The Information, Dispo has also held discussions with other large companies, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Benchmark.
As the app continues to grow, Dispo leaders are committed to ensuring that the app remains a safe and open space for its users. “Trust and security is something that is incredibly important to us and will be an unwavering focus,” said Daniel Liss, 32, CEO of Dispo. “Saying we don’t have a stance on trust and safety is not good enough. It’s unacceptable to our community and shareholders.”
“It is a position that I am hiring before an investor has asked me about it because it is important to me, David and our team,” he added.
While there will always be competition and copycats, Mr. Dobrik believes Dispo offers something that photo filters cannot replicate.
“When you see a disposable photo, you know it’s real and not made or put together,” he said. ‘It just happened and it was recorded. That’s what makes it so exciting. “