Carrier Pidge messaging app says 'waiting is the point'
In a world saturated with push notifications and instant updates, a new messaging app hopes users will flock to it because of its more leisurely approach. Carrier Pidge is a platform app that can take a long time to deliver a message, and sometimes fails to do so entirely, like in the old days, when messages were sent by pigeon. “The waiting is the point,” Carrier Pidge states on its website. The…
In a time where push notifications and instant updates inundate our devices, a messaging app named Carrier Pidge aims to entice users through its deliberate pace. This platform app resembles the antiquated method of sending messages via carrier pigeon, as its website proclaims, "The waiting is the point."
Messages transmitted through Carrier Pidge are dispatched at the pace of a pigeon, with the time taken to reach the recipient depending on the distance separating the sender and the receiver. A recent test saw a message from Washington reaching a colleague in the UAE, estimated to take approximately three days. The virtual pigeon flies at a speed of 110mph (177kph), with delivery based on the real GPS distance between the users.
Users can track the virtual bird as it traverses the globe, and while the message is en route, other messages cannot be sent. There's also a small chance the message may not arrive, as per the description, "Not every pigeon makes it," with a 0.2% chance of getting lost mid-flight and a 25% speed variance.
A new pigeon can be purchased within the app for $0.99. Launched in April, Carrier Pidge ranks 65th among social networking apps by downloads and boasts a 4.6 out of 5-star rating from over 500 reviews. The app's creator, Noah Iarrobino, is a software engineer at Fidelity Investments, a graduate of the University of Iowa (2020), and has previously developed other apps such as a smartphone alarm clock and a screen tap counter.
Unlike Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg who sought to "connect the world," Carrier Pidge operates on a different principle. "There is no pressure to answer instantly and no read-receipt performance," the app's description states. "When the pigeon lands, the message has earned a moment of attention." Carrier Pidge limits the information it collects, displaying only a broad region of the sender's location instead of the exact street, home, or live location. The app is free and currently exclusive to iPhone users.
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