Houseparty (app)
Houseparty was a social networking service that enabled group video chatting through mobile and desktop apps. Users received a notification when friends are online and available to group video chat.[1][2] On average, users spent more than 60 minutes per conversation on the app in group or one-on-one chats.[3] It was launched by Life on Air, Inc. in 2016[4][5] and was available on iOS, Android mobile devices, macOS and Google Chrome.[6] Sima Sistani is the company's chief executive officer and co-founder.[7] Epic Games announced the decision to discontinue Houseparty on September 9, 2021[8] and removed it from the app stores on the same day. It continued to function for users who had already downloaded it until October 2021.
Original author(s)
Development[edit]
In early 2015, Life On Air, Inc., a team headed by founder and CEO Ben Rubin, released the live streaming app Meerkat and raised $12 million in venture capital funding from Greylock Partners.[9][10][11][12] Following the release, the creators began developing a new app called Houseparty that moved "away from public broadcasts in favor of private chats."[13][14]
Houseparty was released to the App Store and Play Store in February 2016 under a pseudonym.[15] It was developed over 10 months with a website redirecting to the Houseparty app in October 2016.[14] The company raised $52 million in venture capital funding from Sequoia Capital in late 2016.[16][17] It was available on macOS as of 2018.[18]
Acquisition and expansion[edit]
Co-founder Sistani was announced as the company's chief executive officer in March 2019 and led the acquisition of Houseparty by Epic Games later that year. Life on Air, Inc. became a subsidiary of Epic Games and the monetary terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.[19][20][21] Sistani noted that Houseparty was being used by Fortnite players, so "the partnership made a lot of sense."[22]
In May 2020, Houseparty announced "In The House", a three-day festival with live at-home performances by celebrities such as Alicia Keys, Dion Dublin, Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel and Terry Crews.[23][24]
On September 9, 2021, Epic Games announced that they were planning to shut down the Houseparty service in October of the same year,[8] having announced that the app was to be delisted immediately from mobile app stores.[25][26][27] Both the main video chatting service and the app's "Fortnite Mode" which integrated the app's video chat into Fortnite Battle Royale which was introduced in November 2020,[28] were to function as usual until the service's discontinuation.[8]
Technology[edit]
Houseparty is a "face-to-face social network" where up to eight participants can interact in a single session. Users receive a notification when friends are online and available to group video chat or float between chat rooms.[29]
During early 2019, the company partnered with Ellen DeGeneres's app, "Heads Up!", which is similar to charades.[30] In the summer of 2020, Houseparty partnered with Mattel to add Magic 8-Ball and the card game, Uno to the app. The app contains other popular games such as Quick Draw, Chips & Guac and trivia games that can be played with friends in a video chat.[31][32]
It has been called the "virtual living room" of apps by The New Yorker.[33]
Usage during COVID-19 pandemic[edit]
As many countries went into lockdown during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the app experienced a large increase in popularity.[34] It was downloaded more than 17 million times in March 2020,[29] winning a 2020 Webby Award for "Breakout of the Year".[35] In late March 2020, media outlets reported that Houseparty had been hacked.[36] The report was denied by CEO Sistani stating that "if anyone wanted to know whether we had been hacked, it would be us."[22] According to Fast Company, the app ranked first in Social Networking on the iOS App Store with 50 million downloads through April 2020.[37]
