Social networking app Yubo has set out on a mission to abolish social media followers and instead develop friendships.

The brand, which has more than 40m Gen Z users in 40 countries, is urging its young audience to drive the message friends, not followers and plans to roll out a number of new initiatives across the year to help them do so. 

Unlike other social media apps, Yubo has built a platform without influencers or the like feature, enabling its users to socialise online without the pressure of how many likes’ content gets. The app’s leading livestream technology also allows users to jump into real-time livestream chat rooms and authentically socialise with peers in a safe environment.

CEO and founder of Yubo, Sacha Lazimi said “I read that people with more than 200 followers are more likely to say they felt pressure about the way they look than those with fewer followers. This resonated with me – so unlike other social media apps, Yubo is urging our users to not be a follower and instead socialise online in an authentic way and create genuine online interactions without the pressure of how many followers they have.”

This pressure-free online environment appears to have resonated with Gen Z across the globe. In the first two months of 2021, daily streaming on Yubo increased by over 17 per cent. Its Gen Z audience are also actively engaging in livestreams with hand raising in streams increasing by over a quarter (25.3 per cent) and live screen sharing up by a fifth (21.44 per cent).

Yubo is also celebrating making friends not followers by showcasing actual friendships that have been formed and flourished over the app.

“One of Yubo’s goals is to combat loneliness among teenagers and young adults, by enabling them to meet new people online and make friends” Lazimi continued. “As we seem to be on a steady path out of the pandemic it is an important time for us to be there to support young people through this stage – maybe even facilitate some real-life meetups when possible.”