Friendster has returned! But you can only connect with offline friends.
Friendster, one of the earliest social networking platforms, has been relaunched 24 years after its original debut with a new focus on real-life connections. The redesigned platform, now called Friend, operates as an iOS app and requires users to physically tap their phones together to connect. The app contains no ads, algorithms, or content feeds, emphasizing privacy and offline relationships.
- ▪Friendster has been relaunched as an iOS app named Friend, requiring physical phone taps to connect users.
- ▪The platform does not display posts, follow suggestions, ads, or algorithms.
- ▪Connections on the new Friendster can only be made between people who meet in person and tap their phones together.
- ▪Mike Carson is the founder behind the relaunched version of Friendster.
- ▪The original Friendster was one of the first social networks, predating MySpace.
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Home > Tech Friendster has returned! But you can only connect with offline friends. Friendster, the original social network, has returned from the dead. By Matt Binder on May 1, 2026 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Flipboard Friendster has been relaunched roughly 24 years after it first debuted as one of the first social networking websites. Credit: Friendster.com Do you remember Friendster?The early-2000s social networking platform has now returned roughly 24 years later with a whole new gimmick: Users can only connect with real-life friends.The founder of the new Friendster, Mike Carson, is promoting the relaunched social media platform as being free of any ads and algorithms. But, that's not all that's missing either.
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