Say “Cheese!” Lapse is out now on any handheld device. It is an app designed to capture the moment and document pictures in the appeal of a disposable camera.

Brothers Dan and Ben Silvertown co-founded Lapse in 2021 but launched the latest version in June of 2023.

If you have ever owned a single-use disposable camera, Lapse is relatively the same thing; but this time, it is an app on your phone. All you do is take a picture on your phone, wait until you receive a notification that it has “developed,” and then you have the ability to share it with your friends.

After the photos are developed, you can swipe left to archive or swipe right to “journal” your photo for you and your friends to see. The photos themselves have an added vintage look to them, trying to simulate an actual disposable photo.

“I know of the app Lapse through my friends who use it,” freshman Jack McHugh said.

He explained how he only heard of the app after getting friend requests over text.

Lapse uses an interesting, yet genius, marketing technique that recruits new members to the app. Lapse is an invite-only social media platform, where users must invite five contacts and request at least eight new friends prior to using the app.

To some, like McHugh, this steers users in the other direction.

“I think the company could increase the number of [users] if they come up with a better way to promote it,” he said.

However, for others, Lapse has overridden the annoyance of growth-hacking techniques through the app’s ability to capture and share a current moment. This is the case for a frequent user of Lapse, freshman Julia Zensius.

“I love it,” Zensius said. “I think it’s a super cute idea and adorable to share your pictures with friends.”

Zensius uses the app often, saying it’s a perfect way to stay connected with friends from other schools and take a quick look at what they are up to.

Whether you’re near or far, Lapse helps you stay connected with your friends. As a freshman myself, it can become a challenge to stay close with home friends since we’re all living such different lives at different colleges. However, this app allows us to keep in touch with what we’re up to on a daily basis.

This is exactly how the app has been growing in popularity over the past few months: young people crave a social media platform that shares moments with their friends.

“I like how this app is invite-only because it allows me to keep up with my close friends, as opposed to having my feed clogged with people I don’t know,” sophomore Ryenn Engles said.

Lapse is designed to archive memories to be shared with others with just one easy click-and-swipe.