Products we love—Houseparty App

When the nation went into lockdown, the pandemic hit our social lives right where it counts. Most of us were used to seeing friends and family or, at the very least, co-workers every day. We were suddenly confined to anti-social cages with very few options for breaking out. Even the most introverted among us have felt trapped by it. Luckily, technology today is always giving us new solutions to our newest problems, and one app that has helped curb those restrictions the most is Houseparty.

At first glance, Houseparty seems like just another contender in the video-call market. There are plenty of them, from Facetime to Zoom to Facebook Messenger. All of them let you chat face-to-face with family, friends, co-workers, or even clients. But there is one way that Houseparty stands out from the rest to become my go-to app for touching base with those with whom I’ve, well… lost touch.

How does the Houseparty App work?

Most video call apps require you to call someone or set up a meeting to which you invite others. Houseparty doesn’t. Instead, Houseparty is more like a virtual lounge. When you open the app, Houseparty simply notifies your connections that you are “in the house,” allowing them to jump in to say hi or not. This makes it much easier to connect with others in a way that feels more natural and refreshingly casual. I’ve often been simply going about my day when I see that someone is “in the house,” someone I had no intention of calling, and next thing I know my quick “Hello” has turned into an hour-long conversation about a book, new movie, or something we saw on the news.

You might open Houseparty while doing the dishes or eating lunch just to see who checks in. There’s been plenty of times that I get a notification that my brother is “in the house,” so I’ll hop in to say “hi.” Moments later, my sister will jump in, then my in-laws, and maybe a distant friend. And we all chat as if we simply ran into each other on the street. What’s even more interesting is how often I’ve then had to jump off, only to find out my brother-in-law and parents continued chatting for another hour after I was gone. By simply removing the prerequisite of intent, people are able to connect in a way that is much more akin to how we did before this whole crazy pandemic happened.

But don’t worry, if you are looking to have some one-on-one time with someone you haven’t seen in a while, locking the room is only a tap away. The app includes some other features, like basic chatting functions to send funny pics or interesting links or the ability to initiate party games with the group, like trivia or Heads Up! (the popular game from Ellen DeGeneres where a person has to guess a word that they can’t see using clues from the other players.) In fact, the Houseparty app games are one of the reasons it’s become so popular. Beyond that, Houseparty focuses on doing one thing really, really well: bringing people together, no matter how far apart they are.

So, if you are feeling out of touch with your regular crew and want an easy way to get back in touch, Houseparty is a solid choice.