This article was published on December 20, 2013

Between, the social network for couples, gets a major update as it passes 5m downloads


Between, the social network for couples, gets a major update as it passes 5m downloads

Between, an app that originated from South Korea for couples to share their moments in a private social network, has crossed five million downloads globally, it was announced today.

To continue this momentum and make greater strides into the global market, the Between app has been updated today as well, marking the first major update since its official launch in March last year.

Currently, South Korea accounts for 60 percent of Between’s total downloads. Japan and China both represent 10 percent each, while Southeast Asia and the US take seven percent and five percent respectively.

Jaeuk Park, the CEO of VCNC, the company behind Between, notes that despite being targeted at South Korean couples, the app saw organic adoption in other parts of the world, which led to the team starting to study these other markets more.

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“Between 2.0 is the result of actively engaging our global users and gathering their feedback to bring Between to the next level for couples around the world,” Park says.

To this extent, VCNC is also rebranding Between with a new app icon and logo, as it seeks to to position it better for the global audience.

The updated version of the Between app — which is much like Path but for couples — gets a more visual user interface that places greater emphasis on photos and how they are displayed and organized.

Between-2.0-2

It also features a shared calendar so users can plan their dates, notify their partner about key appointments or travel schedules and keep track of special events such as birthdays or anniversaries.

Between-2.0

 

There is even, strangely enough, a weather update feature which is probably only useful for couples that travel apart from each other often or are in a long-distance relationship. The Between team says the weather update feature serves to “bring couples closer together when they are physically apart by helping them understand the weather they are experiencing respectively.”

Between-2.0-3

Earlier this year, VCNC raised a round of 3 billion Korean won (approximately $2.8 million) to grow the international presence of Between, with particular focus on Japan. Between 2.0 marks one of the company’s strongest pushes since then to grow its global userbase, but it is facing stiff competition.

Y Combinator-backed Pair arrived on the scene in March 2012. It won investment from Path founder Dave Morin, SV Angel, Crunchfund and others, going on to acquire UK-based Cupple and rebrand to Couple — another competitor is Avocado, which was started by ex-Googlers. Equally private social networks like 23snaps and Everyme cater for select groups, which could range from friends and extended families, to couples.

➤ Between: iOS | Google Play

Article updated with details of Pair’s acquisition of Cupple

Headline image via Shutterstock

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