noplace, a newly launched app that aims to bring back the "social" part of social media, has risen to the top of the App Store after ending its invite-only phase on Wednesday. Nowhere is targeted at a younger demographic and anyone looking to make friends or connect over the same interests. It resembles a contemporary Myspace, complete with colorful, customizable profiles. Users are able to share anything, including their relationship status and the music, movies, books, and activities they are now engaged in.
Despite the difficulties in breaking into the consumer social market, noplace's feature that allows users to customize their profile colors has caused it to become viral even before it was made public. The chaotic customizations of Myspace may have escaped the notice of Gen Z, but there's something nostalgic about the social networking they never experienced. Tiffany Zhong, the founder and CEO, feels that the once magical and enjoyable aspects of the internet have vanished, with everything becoming incredibly standard and uniform. Zhong, who was the founder of Pineapple Capital and worked at Binary Capital when she was a teenager, is good at spotting the next big thing on social media. In 2015, she recognized Musical.ly as a potential major player due to its popularity among younger users.
Zhong's vision for noplace has been shaped by her vast experience with consumer social apps and her active participation on social media, where she frequently provided product insights. Though she's always appreciated social media, she believes it's become more about media and has lost its social component. According to her, it is more difficult to find a community with today's highly personalized content.
noplace seeks to promote a sense of community by allowing users to follow friends and connect with people with similar interests all in one place. Users can create mini, customized profiles with "stars" (tags signifying interests or subjects) to make them discoverable by others. Additionally, the app has a "top 10 friends" option that is similar to the top 8 on Myspace.
Unlike Facebook, noplace only accepts text-based updates and does not allow images or videos. Zhong points out that although Facebook was formerly about life updates, platforms like Instagram now focus on highlights rather than current activities. Users are encouraged by noplace to share their current activities through two feeds—a global feed and a friend feed—both of which are arranged in reverse chronological order.
noplace prioritizes user safety; the app employs a dedicated moderation team and offers a moderated feed for users under the age of 18. noplace curates the feed without using algorithms; instead, it leverages AI to provide summaries of missed content.
In the latter half of last year, Zhong started developing noplace with a remote team of seven people. Following an invite-only beta test that "accidentally went viral," the app was formally released and quickly attracted early users, particularly aficionados of K-pop.
noplace is set to offer an alternative to Twitter (now X) under Elon Musk, combining text-based posts with friend-finding features and customization options appealing to Gen Z. Available as a free download on iOS and in read-only mode on the web, noplace competes with other Gen Z-focused friend-finding apps like Wizz, Yubo, purp, and LMK.
Backed by investors including 776 (Alexis Ohanian) and Forerunner Ventures, noplace raised $15 million in a Series A1 round at a pre-money valuation of $75 million, according to PitchBook data, bringing its total funding to over $19 million.