Private party app pulled from App Store by Apple

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Despite over 82 million cases and over 1.75 million deaths due to COVID-19, many people are bound and determined to carry on with normal life. For some, that includes attending Saturday night ragers, just like they did in the Before Times. Reports of yet another secret party being broken up by law enforcement have become distressingly common.

Getting guests for these secret parties is at least slightly more difficult now that Apple has pulled Vybe Together—an app with a tagline that invited users to “get their party on”—from the App Store. The Verge pointed out that the app had largely been flying under the radar until a tweet from Taylor Lorenz of the New York Times brought some unwelcome, but much-needed scrutiny to the app. One of Lorenz’s tweets highlighted Vybe Together’s TikTok account, which had posted videos of unmasked people partying indoors while advertising New Years Eve parties. According to Business Insider, TikTok has since removed Vybe Together’s account for violating community guidelines.

Vybe Together’s FAQ at least acknowledged the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are aware that Covid is a major health problem to the country, our communities, our friends and family. If we could all just be in isolation this could actually go away.” So far, so good.