Retro — Photos with Friends

Name: Retro — Photos with Friends
Rating: 4.8 (3851 reviews)
Author: Lone Palm Labs, Inc.

Memories, Albums & Widgets

Only for iPhone

Free · In‑App Purchases

3.9K Ratings
Awards

Editors’ Choice

Apps
Ages

13+
Years
Category

Photo & Video
Developer

Lone Palm Labs, Inc.
Language

EN
+ 13 More
Size

149.7
MB

iPhone

Retro is a radical new idea: a social app where you share real photos with real friends. It's the app that we wanted for our own family and friends, and for you, it should feel like a breath of fresh air. Retro is a weekly photo journal that (1) brings you closer to the people you actually care about and (2) helps you appreciate your own life - all without the distractions and pressure of big social media. So dust off those photos that are just sitting in your camera roll and spread some joy in the world. Say hi to us at founders@retro.app And if you’re still reading, here are some reasons to try Retro: - EASY TO START: Start by choosing photos you’ve already taken and backfill the weeks on your profile with the photos and videos you want to remember. - NO PRESSURE: Everything was designed with your comfort in mind. Your friend list is private. Likes on your posts are private. No captions required. Update any part of your profile anytime. - PRINT & SHIP POSTCARDS: Spread some joy through snail mail by printing your photo as a high quality postcard and sending it to anyone in the world via USPS first class. - MONTHLY RECAPS: Create a beautiful photo collage or video slideshow from the photos you’ve shared from the week, month, or year. Then share via text or Instagram in a tap. - GROUP ALBUMS: Start a private album and drop the link in your group chat to collect and share photos after events. Perfect for parties, projects, friends, parents, and couples. - GROUP MESSAGING: Retro is now an all-in-one home for groups large and small, with the ability to share photos, videos, and notes privately in Albums and start group chats in Messages. - HOME SCREEN WIDGETS: See the newest posts from friends or time hop back to your own memories with our new widgets. We've poured our hearts into this, and we hope you love it. Terms of use: https://retro.app/terms

Ratings & Reviews

4.8

out of 5

3.9K Ratings

Editors’ Choice

With Retro, staying connected to the people who matter most is an algorithm-free delight, thanks to the private, friends-only space that invites you to share meaningful moments each week.
the app I’ve been waiting for
08/08/2024

fotomojodojo
Now that all my other fave social media apps feel like they’ve been completely taken over by memes and ads and random accounts who aren’t actually my social circles, I’ve been SEARCHING for anything that actually helps me keep up with farther away friends and family. I tried so many others but found them pushy or hard to keep up with or not private enough. This app SOLVES IT ALL. It doesn’t try to force you to post daily, but still encourages you to put something from your week so you can look back on your month/year/etc. the default is private and “old” posts are hidden unless you give access (no need to clean out old posts). Going through new posts from friends are always brought to the top and easy to go through or comment. The recaps at the end of each week and month are soooo gorgeous and fun to share with friends off the app too. I truly have loved every second with this app and have told at least a dozen friends of mine to join asap so I can keep up with them. Please please please keep this app as clean and inner circle focused as it is today, it’s MAGICAL
the app I’ve been waiting for
08/08/2024

fotomojodojo

Now that all my other fave social media apps feel like they’ve been completely taken over by memes and ads and random accounts who aren’t actually my social circles, I’ve been SEARCHING for anything that actually helps me keep up with farther away friends and family. I tried so many others but found them pushy or hard to keep up with or not private enough. This app SOLVES IT ALL. It doesn’t try to force you to post daily, but still encourages you to put something from your week so you can look back on your month/year/etc. the default is private and “old” posts are hidden unless you give access (no need to clean out old posts). Going through new posts from friends are always brought to the top and easy to go through or comment. The recaps at the end of each week and month are soooo gorgeous and fun to share with friends off the app too. I truly have loved every second with this app and have told at least a dozen friends of mine to join asap so I can keep up with them. Please please please keep this app as clean and inner circle focused as it is today, it’s MAGICAL
Amazing social app!!
12/07/2023

Unimpressed2K16
The social app we’ve all been looking for!Lots of pros: a polished design, returning to social media’s roots of seeing friends’ memories instead of content overload, an app that works very well with friends but also is nice as a private journal (though with friends is better!), and an overall lack of spam via content or notifications.There are a couple of sore spots that I want to raise, but they’re ultimately minor wishes:- The stories UX — tap to see the next post from the same friend, swipe to see a different friend — is confusing here. Because all the content is displayed like in a camera roll, I keep naturally swiping instead of tapping. This leads me to miss content. Maybe different gesture mechanisms, like swiping left to see the next post (whether from the same friend or a different friend) and swiping up to switch friends may make it better.- I want to add captions to my posts!! We’ve been resorting to using comments to do so, which is fine, but it feels more natural to add/edit a caption to do so. No need to caption when selecting images to post— I just want to be able to edit an already posted photo with a caption.- I wish there had been a slightly more aggressive growth/network creation strategy. Nothing near the level of Lapse (that NUX made me never want to use that app ever again), but I think some more mechanisms to encourage people to add friends would be nice. There’s social app fatigue with all the new apps popping up, and it’s unfortunate Retro isn’t winning due to what feels like poor network effects.
Amazing social app!!
12/07/2023

Unimpressed2K16

The social app we’ve all been looking for!Lots of pros: a polished design, returning to social media’s roots of seeing friends’ memories instead of content overload, an app that works very well with friends but also is nice as a private journal (though with friends is better!), and an overall lack of spam via content or notifications.There are a couple of sore spots that I want to raise, but they’re ultimately minor wishes:- The stories UX — tap to see the next post from the same friend, swipe to see a different friend — is confusing here. Because all the content is displayed like in a camera roll, I keep naturally swiping instead of tapping. This leads me to miss content. Maybe different gesture mechanisms, like swiping left to see the next post (whether from the same friend or a different friend) and swiping up to switch friends may make it better.- I want to add captions to my posts!! We’ve been resorting to using comments to do so, which is fine, but it feels more natural to add/edit a caption to do so. No need to caption when selecting images to post— I just want to be able to edit an already posted photo with a caption.- I wish there had been a slightly more aggressive growth/network creation strategy. Nothing near the level of Lapse (that NUX made me never want to use that app ever again), but I think some more mechanisms to encourage people to add friends would be nice. There’s social app fatigue with all the new apps popping up, and it’s unfortunate Retro isn’t winning due to what feels like poor network effects.
Almost Perfect
01/24/2025

KentuckyJBird
I love almost everything about this app. I LOVE that there are no ads, no suggested content, no algorithms, and especially that it’s not owned by a fascist oligarch. It’s clean and simple and a breath of fresh air. What I don’t like is that your followers can’t see your posts for that week unless they also posted something for that week (and vise versa). This is not doable for a few of my friends and family, like my 93-year old mother. She enjoys seeing everyone’s pictures but she obviously isn’t going to post anything and I think it’s wrong to force people to make a post in order to see posts from those they follow. At the very least give the user the option of allowing or not allowing views based on whether or not a follower also posts. Also, as another user suggested, please allow uploading of multiple photos from different weeks / dates and have the app sort and post them. Also, I could find no way to add any text to my post unless it was by adding a comment. Why??? Give us a way to say something about our photo without having to add a comment, please. Fix these and it’s a 5-star app.

Developer Response
Thanks so much for trying Retro! As for the post-to-see nudge each week, we wanted to create a place where everyone shares - no lurkers like on other social apps. But we totally get that your grandmother may never post, and we've got a new feature coming to address that for you. And captions, too! Email us at founders@retro.app if you ever want to get other feature requests on the roadmap.
Almost Perfect
01/24/2025

KentuckyJBird

I love almost everything about this app. I LOVE that there are no ads, no suggested content, no algorithms, and especially that it’s not owned by a fascist oligarch. It’s clean and simple and a breath of fresh air. What I don’t like is that your followers can’t see your posts for that week unless they also posted something for that week (and vise versa). This is not doable for a few of my friends and family, like my 93-year old mother. She enjoys seeing everyone’s pictures but she obviously isn’t going to post anything and I think it’s wrong to force people to make a post in order to see posts from those they follow. At the very least give the user the option of allowing or not allowing views based on whether or not a follower also posts. Also, as another user suggested, please allow uploading of multiple photos from different weeks / dates and have the app sort and post them. Also, I could find no way to add any text to my post unless it was by adding a comment. Why??? Give us a way to say something about our photo without having to add a comment, please. Fix these and it’s a 5-star app.
Developer Response 02/08/2025
Thanks so much for trying Retro! As for the post-to-see nudge each week, we wanted to create a place where everyone shares - no lurkers like on other social apps. But we totally get that your grandmother may never post, and we've got a new feature coming to address that for you. And captions, too! Email us at founders@retro.app if you ever want to get other feature requests on the roadmap.

This update includes bug fixes and other improvements. We love hearing from you - leave us a quick review on the App Store, follow us at @retrodotapp, or say hi at founders@retro.app.

Version 102.0 5d ago

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
- Location
- Contact Info
- Contacts
- User Content
- Identifiers
- Usage Data
- Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Accessibility

Information

Seller: Lone Palm Labs, Inc.
Size: 149.7 MB
Category: Photo & Video
Compatibility: Requires iOS 17.0 or later.

iPhone
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.

Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
Languages: English and 13 more

English, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese
Age Rating: 13+

13+

Learn More

Infrequent
Profanity or Crude Humor
Mature or Suggestive Themes
Alcohol, Tobacco, Drug Use or References
Sexual Content or Nudity
Guns or Other Weapons

Contains
Messaging and Chat
User-Generated Content
In-App Purchases: Yes

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Annual Retro Premium (Trial) $35.99

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