Close-Friends Social App: Target Users, MVP Features and Success Metrics

Design a mobile app that lets people share updates with, and keep up with updates from, only their close friends. Explain who you would build it for, which problems it solves for them, what you would build first, and how you would know it is working. ```hint Decide what close means Before listing features, decide who controls the close-friends list, whether a connection has to be mutual, and what happens socially when someone is left out or removed. Those choices shape everything else. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Should this be a new standalone app, or a feature inside an existing social or messaging app such as Instagram or WhatsApp? - Which market and platforms should the first version target: one country, mobile only, or web as well? - What kinds of updates are in scope: text, photos, short videos, voice notes, location or status? - Is the main aim to bring back people who have stopped posting on public feeds, or to deepen engagement among people who already share a lot? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A clear goal, and a reason close-friend sharing is poorly served today by public feeds and group chats. - A chosen user segment with specific pain points about audience, effort and privacy. - A prioritized first version, including how the friend list is built and kept private and how the app overcomes the empty-network problem at launch. - A north-star metric based on two-way interaction between close friends, with guardrails on privacy, notification fatigue and wellbeing. - Risks such as cold start, novelty fading after the first weeks, and overlap with existing apps. ### Follow-up Questions - Why would a user switch to your app instead of creating a group chat with the same friends? - Months after launch, many people post during their first week and then go quiet. How would you diagnose and fix this? - Leadership asks you to add ads to the friends feed. How would you evaluate the request?