Apr 16, 2020 - Technology

Social media app Cocoon adds features for the coronavirus era

Ina Fried

A screenshot of Cocoon, an app for small groups of friends and family. — Photo: Cocoon

Cocoon, an iPhone app for sharing with a close circle of friends, is adding a number of health and wellness features designed to be useful amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why it matters: The app, founded by two former Facebook employees, was already pretty well suited to a society sheltering in place, as it allows people to privately share thoughts, pictures and other information with an intimate circle.

Details: The app was designed to allow physically distant friends and family to replicate the kinds of sharing that happen organically when they are with one another in person, CEO Sachin Monga said in an interview. Cocoon has been downloaded by thousands of families since launching last November, Monga said.

With its new update, Cocoon will also let people share health data like temperature or steps taken, and reward one another for staying at home for multiple days in a row.
"Hopefully this will provide a little extra comfort," Monga said.

Go deeper: Small social networks are having a moment

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Social media app Cocoon adds features for the coronavirus era

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