Apple has pulled an iOS app called Vybe Together that promoted private parties in New York City and elsewhere during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vybe Together Instagram account advertises in Comic Sans font. “Local wine nights, beer pong games and dancing in an apartment near you.”
If the party invite sounds nostalgic, you’ve probably been heeding public health officials’ recommendations and local laws preventing gatherings of 10 people or more. But the party-planning app allows hosts to screen guests that “apply” to attend private and in some cases illegal parties in their area.
With the tagline “Get your rebel on. Get your party on,” the app and TikTok videos encouraged users to organize and attend “secret gatherings” including “speakeasies, jam sessions or beer pong,” according to the iOS page that has since been removed. If approved by organizers, you’d receive the address two hours before an event.
In a FAQ, Vibe said it only allowed “small gatherings” and no big parties, but even those would be illegal under pandemic rules in many cities. That’s because it only takes a single sick person, who may well show no symptoms, to cause a chain of infection that puts folks well beyond the party radius at risk.
The app appeared to have a relative small presence on Instagram, TikTok and the iOS store, despite the large outrage it generated. Apple pulling the app suggests it either follows government advice or has its own rules for apps that flout COVID rules
