French startup ten ten finds viral success and controversy in reinventing walkie-talkies
Lower than one yr after its iOS launch, French startup ten ten has gone viral with a walkie-talkie app that enables teenagers to ship voice messages to their shut pals — even when their cellphone is locked.
Whether or not you assume that’s a recipe for catastrophe or the best factor you’ve heard might rely in your age group, and teenagers clearly heard of that one lengthy earlier than we did; though walkie talkies are clearly not a brand new idea, even in app kind. Ten ten is doing the identical, however in 2024.
“We’re ephemeral by design,” ten ten co-founder and CEO, Jule Comar mentioned in a written interview with TechCrunch. He added that In CB codes, 1010 means “Transmission accomplished, standing by.” In accordance with Comar, this is only one of “a number of meanings that align with our values and the idea.” It appears to be resonating; the app is free and rapidly climbing rankings.
Ten ten’s sudden rise is especially noticeable in France, the place it has been downloaded 1 million occasions. Together with on Android, the place it grew to become obtainable a couple of weeks in the past, the app noticed 6 million downloads since its launch, in accordance with information shared by market intelligence agency Sensor Tower with TechCrunch on Friday.
The idea might additionally obtain tweaks alongside the best way. The present UX suggests a 9-friend cap, however that’s not the case. “Ten ten is for shut pals however there’s no buddy restrict, we’re seeing folks share their PINs on social media so we’re engaged on a greater buddy administration system,” Comar mentioned.
The PINs Comar is referring to are the IDs that customers can use to search out one another. The app additionally asks for entry to the consumer’s contacts (however no person will get added with out consumer motion.) There’s inherent virality on this mannequin, however that’s not the one progress driver; TikTok “performed an essential function,” Comar mentioned.
Ten ten’s obtain numbers have undoubtedly saved on rising in the course of the weekend: ten ten has been all around the French media these days. Not at all times with a constructive spin; French newspaper Le Figaro, as an illustration, known as it “worrying.” “I used to be very shocked,” Comar mentioned. “There’s nothing “harmful” about ten ten!”
It’s not simply articles trying on the app in a detrimental gentle; there may be additionally faux information circulating, Comar mentioned. “There have been some rumors going round that we have been a Chinese language app due to the title “ten ten” and we bought wrongly accused of “spying” and “stealing information”…”
Ten ten isn’t Chinese language, although. The corporate has been duly registered in France, since 2021, that means it is usually topic to GDPR. Its present phrases and circumstances are formulaic, however point out that the staff is within the strategy of writing higher ones. Extra importantly, the startup’s privateness coverage is adamant about two factors:
- All of your conversations are ephemeral, we will’t hearken to your dialog as we don’t even retailer them!
- We are going to by no means promote your information!!
In addition to that call to not promote information, it’s unclear how ten ten will earn money. “We’ve got a number of cool concepts on how we might monetize at a later level,” Comar mentioned. There’s little doubt that their present success will purchase them time — and assist them safe enterprise capital to get to that later level.
Requested if his startup already had or was within the strategy of elevating funding, Comar replied affirmatively. However, he added with a smiley, “we will’t actually disclose how a lot and [from] whom but.”
In response to TechCrunch, French VC Hugo Amsellem indicated that though his agency Instinct isn’t considered one of these backers, he sees ten ten as half of a bigger development amongst French startups.
For Amsellem, the widespread thread is that “France is king at standing sport performs.” People are searching for to extend their social standing, and French entrepreneurs are completely happy to assist, whether or not that’s on the software program facet BeReal, Yubo or Zenly, or on the {hardware} facet with luxurious gadgets.
It stays to be seen how lengthy ten ten can retain its cool issue, however its CEO is conscious that its present place is each privileged and fragile. Comar mentioned:
It’s exhilarating, it’s a sense that’s arduous to explain however that a couple of fortunate ones have felt, it appears like the whole lot goes so quick and so gradual on the similar time, adrenaline combined with pleasure, gratitude and duties, you are feeling large and small on the similar time — You possibly can solely really feel this in shopper social, as a result of it may well hit you once you least anticipate it and there’s no ceiling. However we have now to maintain our heads on our shoulders, it’s just the start, the toughest is but to return.
Comar and ten ten co-founder and CTO Antoine Baché have been sleeping little or no these days. A smiley-ridden e mail auto-reply warns that they’re “having points with our servers as a consequence of an enormous variety of customers on the similar time,” and “engaged on it day and evening to repair it as soon as and for all.”
Server pains apart, a generational hole is one hurdle that ten ten should navigate well. Greater than privateness, it’s usually the truth that ten ten is utilized by teenagers and in school rooms that’s being mentioned. “While you learn these articles it appears like they’re speaking about some sort of new drug going round in class!” Comar mentioned.
It’s simple to see why academics have been the primary adults to note the app. Since ten ten can bypass a lock display to play a message out loud, it may be used for pranks and create small disruptions in school rooms. However having to show cellphone hygiene isn’t new, and youngsters are savvy sufficient to determine it out, too.
In a French subreddit for academics, a dialogue occurred as as to if members had had any issues with ten ten in school rooms. One participant famous that there had been “no main incidents up to now” regardless of the app “getting a number of consideration” at their college. However, that particular person added, “I ask the scholars to place their telephones on airplane mode.” (We haven’t reached out to confirm that this particular person is a trainer, however their profile appears to substantiate it’s the case.)
As an alternative of beginning a brand new ethical panic, maybe ten ten may very well be a possibility for fogeys to marvel at the truth that a few of our favourite cultural artifacts are making a comeback; whether or not that’s cassettes, Dungeons & Dragons, or now, walkie talkies.
There’s just one small step from out of date to classic, and the success of ‘Stranger Issues‘ doubtless helped. However app-based walkie talkies would get no precise traction if there was no actual use case round them. Comar thinks there may be, and that’s what impressed him.
“I’ve at all times had a gaggle of shut pals, we discuss on a regular basis on a number of mediums, however I felt like all of them had some sort of friction,” he mentioned. “I needed us to have the ability to talk like if we have been at all times beneath the identical roof, like roommates: you simply pop of their room once you need to say one thing, if their door is closed you knock, if it’s open you simply discuss!”
Hopefully for ten ten, dad and mom will see the worth in that as nicely. Who is aware of, perhaps they will use it to say out loud that dinner is prepared. That’s, if their teen accepts them as a contact.
