Born in 2015, it has similar functionality and interface to Instagram, but does not give space to advertisements. The success dictated by the changes of Instagram
His growth trend is quite abnormal, as far as we are dealing with an app of a photographic social network. The fact is that Vero practically appeared out of nowhere and, in a matter of very few days, it managed to conquer the top of the most installed apps in the App Store in the United States. All this despite the fact that it was created in 2015 and launched without too much fanfare.
An unexpected comeback, most likely, even for Vero's creator and developer himself, Lebanese-born billionaire Ayman Hariri. Just a week ago, the app was practically unknown, so much so that it wasn't even part of the top 1,500 in its category. In short, a social network like so many others destined, probably, to fall definitively into oblivion. Fate, however, has reserved better fortunes for Vero and it is now enjoying moments of (unexpected) success.
What is Vero and how it works
Launched in 2015, Vero defines itself as a "social network that makes you be yourself". Hariri, in particular, was fed up with the privacy policies of other social networks that make profits from ads. So, the computer scientist of Lebanese origin decided to set up his own business (also favored by a personal fortune estimated at 1.3 billion dollars) and create a social network similar in appearance and functionality to Instagram. True, in fact.
To understand how True works you just need to have used at least once in your life Instagram and you will not have any problem adapting. As mentioned, in fact, in making his application Hariri takes inspiration from the social now owned by Facebook, borrowing the graphics and some of the features. To this base are added other elements, such as the ability to publish text notes, suggestions for songs, videos and books. In short, a little bit Instagram and a little bit Facebook, at least in terms of functionality.
The major differences between Vero and the various Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are other. First of all, posts are shown in chronological order in the users' time line, with no algorithm trying to identify which posts are the most important or significant. Contacts, on the other hand, are divided into four categories: private, friends, acquaintances and followers. In short, a more complex "stratification" than that proposed by Instagram.
Finally, there is no lack of emphasis on the data protection and collection policy. Created as a response to policies that were too "liberal", Vero keeps very little data on users (name and surname, date of birth and phone number) and, above all, does not share it with advertisers or third-party developers.
Why Vero has grown so much in a short time
And this is probably the secret of Vero's late success. Users, tired of the constant updates to the algorithm of Facebook and Instagram, have been looking for an alternative that would allow them to "go back in time" to be able to independently choose which content to view and which not (instead of leaving everything to an algorithm).
In recent weeks the app has grown exponentially and, according to some analysts, has managed to collect over half a million downloads from the App Store (and probably a similar figure on the Google Play Store) in just 24 hours. These are estimates and not official data, but Instagram could be the litmus test of Vero's success: the posts that invite to switch platform marked by the hashtag #Vero are now more than half a million and the number continues to grow day after day, without stopping.