Lapse is a new photo-editing / photo-sharing application that has made its way to the public. Launched in June of 2023, this app has its marketing tactics down to the tee. To create a profile on this app, individuals must add at least eight friends already on the app and invite five people who are not on the app. This tactic is extremely clever, as it gets its name out into the world by word-of-mouth or word of text. Lapse does a great job with their notifications, from witty catchphrases to trending emoji use, this platform makes users want to keep their notifications on. 

The creation of a profile has many features that have not been seen before on other social media platforms. For example, users can choose up to 36 photos ton a slideshow in the background of their profile picture for any of their followers to see. Users are able to add their favorite song to be played whenever another individual clicks on their profile. There is also an option to add five of their favorite emojis to an individual’s profile. Lapse has thought of everything, with users being able to add birthdates to their profile as well as their star sign, which can be intriguing to many individuals. Whenever the user posts a photo, it is automatically added to the monthly album, which is also on rotation when clicking on their profile. Users can create their albums that their friends can see; they can name this album and add various photos that they have already taken and have been put through the “dark room.” 

This app differs from BeReal in the sense that it does not prompt users to take and post pictures every day. Instead, once you take a picture on Lapse, it takes some time to develop in “the dark room.” The darkroom leaves a sense of anticipation and gives the user a reason to continue opening the app and posting. Once the photo(s) are done developing, they have the “Lapse” edit to them. These edits seems like a more saturated, grainy version of the picture that was originally taken. Vintage-looking and disposable photos are currently trending, so with Lapse considering this in their filters, they are marketing toward the masses. It will be interesting to see if the creators will make more filters that users can choose from when sharing their photos. The individual can then choose to either share the photo for their friends to see or to archive it to be posted into one of their albums later on. 

Users can switch between the two different pages, one being just your friend's pictures and the other consisting of photos chosen to be featured by the Lapse team. With regards to the “social media” aspect of this app, users can react or comment on their friend's posts or the photos chosen by the Lapse team that are posted to their version of a “For You Page”. Lapse has a “direct message” feature, as well. Within this feature, users can snap a picture of themselves in real-time, which will be edited immediately with the signature Lapse filter and put onto a virtual Polaroid picture. Users even have the option to add a message to their photo before sending it to their friends. 

Lapse may be a new and upcoming “trend” to some, however, apps such as BeReal and Lemon8 tried to become “big” like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram, but they eventually fizzled out. Lapse found a different approach. They use the act of social media in the sense of connecting with friends through interacting with posted pictures, but without the aspect of a time constraint  or every day. This app takes the traditional disposable camera app and combines it with a mix of Instagram and Snapchat to create something more unique, yet less demeaning.

Written by Alexa Davis, Design: Alyssa Lazarchik, Social Media: Megan Hall,