# Friendster Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/friendster/ 10 people recommended Friendster in Hacker News comments, 16 had mixed feelings and 23 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. 9 of the 10 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “I Bought Friendster for $30k – Here's What I'm Doing with It”. **Verdict:** More people criticize it than recommend it. People like the phone-tap friend-adding idea and the fast, clean app, but critics say tapping limits it to people who meet in person. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Tapping phones limits who you add (4 comments in the sample): "Tapping phones seems very limiting. I don’t see most of my friends in person that often, different cities etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47917816)) "OkCupid didn't require people to tap their phones together in order to be able to chat in the app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47918156)) "Good idea but not practical for me as my friends and family are widely dispersed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47883338)) - Owner's motives and value questioned (4 comments in the sample): "this alternative is 90% likely going to be a rugpull on "nice cosy 90s style social network" by systemic factors" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47916536)) "this vibecoded chatgpt crap is quite clearly an attempt at making Friendster more valuable than 30k" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47920796)) "Friendster execs were too busy patting themselves on the back and flying around on private jets" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48318520)) - iPhone or Apple account required (4 comments in the sample): "it should not be normalized that you have to have an iPhone to join a social network" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47917947)) "There's no way I'd choose an app like this with which I can only talk to iOS friends" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47946567)) "We can't seem to be able to login from the website, it requires an Apple account?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47915248)) ## Why people recommend it - Phone-tap friend adding idea (4 comments in the sample): "The tap-to-connect constraint makes this work. Every social network removes friction; this one keeps it on purpose…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47916359)) "I think the tapping phones feature -- for initial friend creation, not upkeep -- is THE killer feature of the app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47917039)) "I love the idea of using phone proximity as the only way to add friends." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47915268)) - Fast, clean, simple app (3 comments in the sample): "It’s an absolute bliss to see such a clean UI and no nonsense." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47918119)) "app is snappy and solid. missing a “invite friends” link" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47916235)) "I just signed up and it’s super fast." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47915796)) - Promising idea worth watching (3 comments in the sample): "Friendster sounds like a great idea for a platform to take this on." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47975684)) "I can definitely see the potential" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47949543)) "an attempt in the right direction" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47920998)) ## Other social networks people recommend - [Mastodon](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mastodon/): 201 recommend, 56 mixed, 202 criticize - [Bluesky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bluesky/): 180 recommend, 103 mixed, 347 criticize - [X (formerly Twitter)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/x/): 119 recommend, 102 mixed, 920 criticize - [Instagram](https://hackerapproved.com/p/instagram/): 79 recommend, 111 mixed, 666 criticize ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://friendster.com/) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Friendster", https://hackerapproved.com/p/friendster/ (10 recommend, 16 mixed, 23 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.