{"id":588211,"date":"2026-08-18T08:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T08:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/588211\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T08:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T08:24:09","slug":"forget-dumbphones-this-viral-app-lets-you-send-messages-by-virtual-pigeon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/588211\/","title":{"rendered":"Forget dumbphones, this viral app lets you send messages by virtual pigeon"},"content":{"rendered":"

From iPods to dumbphones <\/a>and retro handheld games consoles<\/a>, low-fi tech is big in 2026, but a couple of recent apps are taking the world’s nostalgic reevaluation of analogue times to an extreme.<\/p>\n

Within a few months, two apps have been released that allow you to send messages at 19th century speeds \u2013 but via your smartphone. Both involve using animals.<\/p>\n

Spent 3 weeks building a texting app slower than email. Messages fly at pigeon speed \u2014 LA to NYC takes 22 hrs. Sometimes the bird dies & the message isn\u2019t delivered. pic.twitter.com\/MwHcldFr0YAugust 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

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Carrier Pidge is an iOS<\/a> app designed to make messages travel as if they were being sent via homing pigeon. The further you are from the recipient the longer the message will take to arrive.<\/p>\n

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At 110 mph, a message sent from someone in New York to a recipient in London takes over a day to arrive. Speeds can vary, and there’s a chance the message won’t arrive at all. The pigeons have a 0.2% probability of getting lost and dying before they reach their destination.<\/p>\n

It’s not quite like the days of the Pigeon post. Delivery is calculated digitally using the GPS distance between the sender and recipient, and you can watch your message’s journey on the map in real time. You can also add friends in the app to create a ‘flock’ while your messages are stored in your ‘aviary’.<\/p>\n

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It probably doesn’t need to be pointed out that Carrier Pidge is not a very efficient way to communicate in 2026, particularly when you have to pay for a replacement pigeon if yours happens to be among the 0.2 per cent that don’t make it.<\/p>\n

Developer Noah Larrobino says it took about three weeks to make the app. It’s currently placed #24 in the social networking category in the App Store.<\/a><\/p>\n

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And it’s not the only app of its kind. Logan Mendelsohn’s Roost Social<\/a> , available for both iOS and Android<\/a>, launched in May and now claims over 200,000 users.<\/p>\n

Roost Social launched <7 weeks ago and now has >200,000 users.At one point, it hit #12 in the AppStore. The idea behind Roost is simple: slow social media down.Send via digital birds to friends & pen pals and wait in real time for messages to arrive. #social #snailmail pic.twitter.com\/laSjCNYSC1July 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Roost lets you choose among various animals to carry your message, from snails to bats, penguins and, yes, pigeons. In this case, none of them die, so your message will arrive, but it could take a month.<\/p>\n

The app also has a Penpal function intended to allow people to make friends around the globe.<\/p>\n

While the world bickers over the new Instagram logo<\/a>, Roost and Carrier Pidge have adopted a philosophy of seeking to slow down social media and the speed of information in modern life. They might be slightly absurd, but could they also allow us to recover some of the suspense and joy involved in receiving letters by post?<\/p>\n