Technology
New apps HyperTexting and Roost offer alternatives to mainstream social media feeds
July 13, 2026 at 06:20 PM
Coverage
2 reports · over 46 hours
Two new apps aim to reshape online interaction, one by turning the open web into a scrollable feed and another by deliberately slowing message delivery.
- Developer Caleb Hailey released HyperTexting for iOS, an app that combines RSS-powered content subscription with a social-media-like interface for reading and publishing to personal websites.
- Hailey said HyperTexting is "trying to combine that publishing and subscribing experience" into a familiar feed format that leverages the existing web rather than centralized platforms.
- Roost creator Logan Mendelsohn said the app's growth surged from 10,000 to 100,000 users within three days after a mother's post on Threads described its message-delivery feature using virtual birds.
- Mendelsohn, facing user complaints about AI-generated bird art, announced a contest for artists to contribute replacements, acknowledging the feedback and the need to "plan and money" to make the change.