Tappy App Launch Party

Last night I was fortunate to attend a Hawaii launch party of Tappy - a new private photo chat app (currently available on the iTunes App Store), which took place at Kissaten Coffee Bar in Waterfront Plaza.

Yes, it's another messaging app, but privacy is the main focus.

Once you download the app, you need to verify via text (send or receive) that the phone you are using is indeed your phone.

You can then give Tappy access to your contacts to see if anyone else you know is on Tappy, and you can also invite via text people from your contact list to join Tappy (they will be sent a link).

Once signed up and logged in, you're ready to get Tappy!  Simply snap a photo (or choose one from your camera roll), add a caption, select your recipients, and send.

Recipients can like a photo and chat about it, and after 24 hours, the photo and chat stream is gone.

Unlike some other social media apps where loopholes in privacy settings allow others to see photos that you thought were "private," in Tappy, only those you send the photos to can see them.  There's no way to share a photo, tag others, or invite others to a chat.

Only the intended recipients can see the photo and chat.

And although in other social media apps there are similar messaging features, I know of people who thought they were sending messages to specific people, when in reality they sent a message to all of their followers.  Oops!

Photos are not automatically downloaded to your phone, thus no memory is taken up, however, the original sender can download a "clean" copy (no text overlay) of photos taken via Tappy.

Receivers can still take a screen shot of the photo, but all of the text overlay will be on it.

Because you can see a list of the recipients when a photo is sent, there is that potential for people you don't know to attempt to add you to their contact list even if they do not have your phone number.

You can add people not already in your contact list

However, you do have the option to preview a photo if someone not already on your Tappy contact list sends you one, and you also have the ability to block someone (and unblock later, if you wish), but he/she may still appear in group chats if you were also invited to the same group chat.

I like that Tappy is more organic in the sense that there is no need to keep snapping until you take the perfect photo, no need to add any filters or remember any hashtags, and simply no need to worry about what other people think.

The concept is that you are sharing a photo and chatting with friends - people you really know, and people who really know you.

It's a nice way to stay connected to those closest to you without having to worry about lurkers or spammers.

I am still playing around with the Tappy app to see everything it can (and can't) do, but I can really see the appeal of Tappy.

If you have an iPhone, you can try Tappy by downloading the app from the iTunes App Store.

Great food at the launch party from Kissaten - From top left clockwise: Kamuela Tomato Bruschetta; Pita; Tomato Watermelon Salad; Chicken Katsu; Acai Bowl; Gyudon; Yakisoba; Truffle Parmesan Fries