With the transformation of social media from a means to engage with friends to expansive entertainment platforms, a startup called Yope is quietly shaping what it envisions as the future of online connections: social networking devoid of algorithms, advertisements, and public content.

Currently supported by a $12.3 million investment round led by Northzone, Yope’s app is competing against tech titans such as Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram by creating a social platform focused on what it terms “micro communities” — small groups where friends and family communicate privately, sharing photos, videos, messages, and soon, playing games.

The concept of establishing an algorithm-free, private social media experience isn’t innovative, yet few apps have succeeded in scaling without integrating creator-driven content to maintain user engagement. Yope aims to shift this trend by fostering connections among real-world friends, positioning it equally as a communication tool and a platform for photo sharing or life updates.

In Yope, user accounts are private by default, and it lacks an algorithmic feed. Additionally, the platform does not incorporate advertisements, choosing instead to cultivate a premium, subscription-based experience for its dedicated users.

Bahram Ismailau, Yope’s co-founder and CEO based in London, mentions that the team recognized the prospect of a new kind of social network after conducting over 100,000 interviews — assisted by AI tools — to better comprehend how youth globally utilize social networks. They discovered that nearly 30% were employing what are often termed photo dump or “spam” accounts, where individuals share more honest photos with a smaller circle of actual friends.

Moreover, numerous individuals don’t post anything publicly, opting instead to rely on messaging to stay connected with friends.

“[Young people] don’t possess a space for self-expression unless they are prepared to become influencers,” Ismailau stated during an interview with TechCrunch. Nevertheless, teenagers still wish to express themselves; they simply want enhanced privacy.

“We identified this significant opportunity to establish a new environment for youth to socialize. We named it Yope, and it represents an AI-native social platform tailored for the younger generation and what’s to come.”

He emphasized that the group doesn’t endorse using AI to produce content; instead, it sees AI as a means to facilitate better connections. This includes employing AI to develop mini-games that users can enjoy with friends, a feature anticipated to debut in approximately a month. The platform also plans to harness AI to assist users in meeting physically, possibly through purchasing event tickets or finding a venue to watch a sports game.

On Yope, users create profiles by sharing photos, which may be transformed into cut-out stickers. Rather than being organized into albums, the photos appear in a collage-like, seemingly disordered layout on each user’s “wall.” Shortly, Yope users will be able to further tailor their space by including their interests, favorite songs, mini-games, as well as customizing aesthetics with colors and wallpapers of their choice.

This concept is reminiscent of Myspace, where users used to cultivate their own areas on the internet, customizing them to mirror their identities.

The app also draws heavily from current social platforms, providing features that have now become standard, such as in-app messaging, highlights of top moments (generated by AI), and lock screen widgets that display friends’ photos. During the onboarding process, the app guides users through the setup of its various functionalities and authorizing the necessary permissions to access their photos and connect with friends, motivating them to add contacts and initiate private conversations.

This blend of features seems effective — Yope currently boasts nearly 15 million users, who collectively share between 10 million and 20 million pieces of content every week, including photos, videos, or stickers. These figures indicate consistent activity. Ismailau asserts that over 50% of Yope’s users access the app at least five times a week, categorizing them as power users.

Furthermore, it’s not solely young individuals adding their friends. Ismailau mentions that roughly 20% of active users have encouraged an older family member to join the platform.

This usage has captured investor interest, as Ismailau states that Northzone approached the firm, rather than the reverse. Northzone, which has previously supported other consumer applications like Spotify and Klarna, led the $12.3 million round, with backing from Inovo, Redseed, and Geek Ventures. This funding round elevates the company’s total financing to $20 million. (Yope results from two earlier pivots — TechCrunch reported on a prior iteration of the company. The existing form has been in development for around two years.)

“Yope represents a modern, empowering, and secure approach to social media, where users hold complete control over their experience, contrasting with the exploitative strategies of Meta, TikTok, or X,” stated Pär-Jörgen Pärson, partner at Northzone. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Bahram, Paul [Rudkouski, co-founder], and their team to expand the service well beyond its current millions of users and the half a billion moments shared.”

The capital will be utilized to enhance the product, expand the team — which now comprises around 35 individuals — and establish a presence in the United States.

Yope is available for free on both iOS and Android.

Correction: Users are sharing 10 to 20 million pieces of content weekly, not daily; the founder made a mistake. The post has been updated accordingly.