Just a few years ago, the ‘real-time web’ used to be a thing. But, nowadays, almost everything online seems to happen instantaneously, not least when sharing photos. That, of course, has its own advantages — such as breaking news on Twitter — but, at the same time, we lose the fun that comes with delayed gratification. Enter: Flashgap, a new time-delayed photo-sharing app inspired by the movie ‘The Hangover’.
Available for iOS only — an Android version is currently in closed Beta — on the surface Flashgap resembles other collaborative photo album-sharing apps. It enables you to create a photo album tied to an event, invite others to contribute their photos, and share the resulting album with the group as a whole. However, all of the photos remain hidden until midday the following day, when they unlock so that the previous night’s horrors can be relived by all.
“In ‘The Hangover’ movie, the four main characters head out to Las Vegas to party and after a night of many excesses they wake up with no memories of the last night. The entire movie is based on them trying to find clues, to figure out what really happened. And the particular scene that inspired us is actually the end credits where you discover all the photos of what they have done,” says Flashgap co-founder and CEO Julian Kabab, when asked to explain the genesis of the app.
“The movie inspired us to create an app where in an event no one has access to the photos taken by friends or themselves. Letting the next day at 12 hours be a discovery of every photo taken for all the participants,” he adds.
That element of next-day discovery certainly adds a neat twist to what is otherwise a crowded space. On competitors, Kabab name-checks Eversnap, and the now defunct Adobe-owned GroupPix.
“Flashgap’s differentiation lies in the surprise generated by sharing the discovery of every picture the next day. We also offer a group chat to organize or debrief about your event,” he says.
Another potential differentiation is Flashgap’s target market of “young people, students and colleges”, as opposed to those attending weddings and corporate events, such as conferences.
The young Paris-based company is currently bootstrapped but says it’s talking to a number of French VCs.