NYOUM is poised to privatize social media

A London-based artificial intelligence startup, NYOUM, is challenging the status quo of Meta, X, and TikTok with a private social network that combines social media and messaging while protecting privacy.

Communication on NYOUM is entirely multimodal and intended for sharing within an inner circle, revolving around an artificial intelligence-powered multimedia feed. To keep conversations completely private, the platform restricts the public sharing of content and relies on an innovative decentralized technology architecture. When users obtain the application, they are prompted to invite five loved ones with whom they wish to share their lives. This feature exemplifies how NYOUM employs a contrarian social media model.

Christopher Schlaeffer, founder and chairman of NYOUM, asserts that social media platforms were intended to broadcast digital content to peers and followers without a personal connection, and therefore lacked adequate content moderation and privacy protection. Moreover, these platforms have incorporated communication features that were previously exclusive to traditional messaging platforms. Due to the convergence of social media and messaging platforms, as well as the obvious shortcomings of social networks, a new model is now required. And NYOUM intends to serve as this new paradigm.

‘NYOUM’ is a Swahili word that signifies ‘You’ , said the company’s founder and chairman. NYOUM is also about a new approach to visual expression, as video and audio sharing, both synchronous and asynchronous, supplant traditional text messaging. In collaboration with prominent artists such as American contemporary artist Ian Cheng, the platform uses generative AI to “iconograph” images for each frame.

This new visual expression should assist users in overcoming their inherent reluctance to share their own images. Nevertheless, NYOUM’s platform employs AI to enhance accessibility and eliminate language barriers via localized LLMs. Video and Audio Messages can be readily consumed, not only by watching or listening, but also by reading live captions. And everything is instantaneously translated into the native language of the recipient. Jim Reeves, co-founder and chief technologist of NYOUM, states, “We care about using advanced technology to unleash magic for our users while making it feel incredibly uncomplicated.”

With a design dominated by multimedia rather than text, NYOUM is an ideal platform for incorporating cutting-edge journaling features comparable to standalone journal apps like Day One. By uploading photos and videos from a phone’s gallery or quickly summarizing a day in a video, NYOUM allows users to effortlessly document and share their lives with close friends.

NYOUM is currently available on the AppStore and Play Store in the United States, Canada, Latin America, India, Korea, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom. Continental Europe is on the company’s launch schedule for next year. “But foremost, 2024 is about viral expansion. To accomplish this in an industry dominated by titans will require all of our ingenuity and commitment, says the founder of NYOUM.

If its private social network reaches 100 million daily active users (DAU) within five years, NYOUM will transfer ownership of the platform to its users and democratize it. It is a modest step toward reimagining who a ‘communication network’ is intended to serve.