Friendster makes a comeback

A nostalgic platform rebuilt for old-school ways of connecting people.

Friendster is making a comeback, returning with a push to offer a more intentional social media experience without ads and algorithms and a stronger focus on real-world connections.

New owner Mike Carson, a programmer who also owns the domain company Park.io, announced that he was relaunching the social network through an iOS app.

In a blog post on April 27, Carson said he had purchased the Friendster website domain and secured ownership of its trademarks in 2025.

“Today I feel that social networks foster a lot of negativity, but I remembered Friendster as being a really positive and enjoyable experience (except when the site would not load, which was really frustrating),” Carson said.

The tap-to-connect barrier

The relaunched Friendster promises no ads, no algorithms, and no selling of users’ data. Its most intriguing draw, however, is requiring users to physically tap their phones together to connect with other users, ensuring that connection is based on real-life relationships. Carson also crowdsourced ideas from a Hacker News forum.

Friendster was launched in 2002 and is considered by many as the first modern social network. The site peaked at 115 million users in 2011. The Philippines had over 13 million active users in 2009, setting the stage for the country’s reputation as the social media capital of the world.

The site shut down in 2015 after a failed attempt at pivoting to social gaming, and the company officially closed in 2018.