Locket Finds Success Thanks to ‘Roll Call’ Feature
Locket, the photo-sharing app with social feed functionality for close friends, is seeing renewed momentum among Gen Alpha users thanks to its recently-added feature Rollcall. The update transforms Apple’s Live Activities technology – originally built for real-time notifications like delivery updates – into a playful, weekly social prompt.
Locket first rose to prominence in early 2022 by embedding its social network directly onto users’ home screens. Instead of relying on push notifications, Locket’s widget would quietly refresh to show photos from friends, encouraging users to reciprocate. Now, Rollcall takes that same philosophy to the iPhone Lock Screen. The Rollcall feature uses a similar approach to prompt users into engaging with one another.
“Every Sunday, we’ll take over your Lock Screen and you’ll get this nice Live Activity that pops up right on the homepage of the iPhone,” said founder and CEO Matt Moss in an interview with TechCrunch. “It’s similar to the widget [as it’s] using Apple technology to get in front of people and then let you share those moments that you wouldn’t have shared.”
The feature asks users to post their favorite photo of the week, creating a collaborative thread among close contacts. According to data from Appfigures, Locket has surpassed 91 million lifetime installs on iOS and Android, and in Rollcall’s first week alone, users shared more than one million posts. Moss added that more than 25% of active users now participate weekly, with Gen Alpha accounting for roughly 80% of those interactions.
The 15-person company is now exploring new creative layers for Rollcall, including short videos, music, and memory prompts. While Locket doesn’t plan to integrate AI-generated content, Moss said AI tools could eventually help users curate or organize photo memories. With over 100,000 paying subscribers and profitability since last year, Locket’s growth signals a broader shift in how the youngest generation engages online – prioritizing authenticity, small networks, and tech that blends seamlessly into their devices rather than demanding constant attention.
