Walkie-talkies? There’s an app for that

The hot new social media app for teenagers is a trip back in time. Ten ten, a French start-up named after radio slang for “transmission completed, standing by,” turns phones into walkie-talkies. According to Tech Crunch, the app has already been downloaded more than 6 million times. The pitch to users is that it’s an app for “friendships – real ones”. In practice, it means sending immediate voice notes, even if your phone is locked. The company’s privacy policy promises that conversations aren’t stored and user data isn’t sold. It looks as if Ten ten’s co-founder and CEO, Jule Comar, is eyeing the success of another French startup, BeReal, which has a similarly sincere pitch to teenagers on authentically connecting with friends. BeReal now has over 2 million users a day and counts French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal among them.