Meet Airchat: An audio-centric social media app for introverts
What's the story
Airchat, a unique social media platform, has been reintroduced to iOS and Android users. The innovative app is the creation of Naval Ravikant, founder of AngelList, and Brian Norgard, a former Tinder executive. An early version of Airchat was released last year. However, the team has since rebuilt and relaunched the app. Currently, it is accessible only through invitation. Despite this limitation, the app has already secured the 27th spot in the social networking category on the Apple App Store.
Features
Unique voice-centric social interaction
Airchat stands out with its unique voice-centric feature. Unlike conventional social media platforms, all posts and responses on Airchat are audio recordings that the app transcribes. Upon launching, messages start playing automatically and users can navigate through them by swiping up/down. The app also allows users to pause the audio and read the transcribed text instead, offering a different dynamic to social interaction. It also offers the ability to follow other users, scroll through a feed, reply, like, and share.
Communication
Emphasis on natural voice communication
Ravikant believes that the emphasis on voice communication in Airchat changes the dynamics of social interaction compared to text-based apps and services. "Humans are all meant to get along with other humans, it just requires the natural voice," he states. Besides audio messages, that appears to be capturing everyone's attention, users are also allowed to share photos and videos on the platform, adding to the app's versatility.
User experience
A boon for introverts
Airchat's asynchronous, threaded posts provide a distinct experience compared to live chat rooms like those on Clubhouse or X Spaces. Norgard believes this approach eliminates the fear of public speaking as "you can take as many passes at composing a message on here as you like, and nobody knows." He disclosed that most early adopters of AirChat are introverted and shy.
Moderation
Approach to content moderation and playback speed
Airchat defaults to 2x audio playback speed, which users can modify to 1x speed by pressing and holding the pause button. Regarding content moderation, Ravikant mentioned that the feed is governed by "some complex rules around hiding spam and trolls and people that you or they may not want to hear from," ensuring a user-friendly experience and a secure environment.