MeowChat. What is it and why is everyone talking about this app?

WHY is everyone talking about MeowChat? Find out everything you need to know about the next big app that’s going gangbusters around the world.

Is this cat going to be the next big thing?

‘WHAT the bloody hell is a MeowChat?’ is something you may have asked as you receive yet another email invite.

It’s an app that’s exploded on app charts and has been pestering people with prompts to download it. You’d be forgiven for thinking someone had actually gone and made a social networking app just for felines but, no. They’re far too catty for that.

MeowChat is a social networking app for us humans that cherry picks the best bits of an instant messaging app like WhatsApp, a dating app like Tinder, and a random chat room app like Omegle. And it’s called MeowChat because, well, some people love to show off their cats on it. That’s not an innuendo.

What’s it about?

What sets it apart from the likes of WhatsApp is that it doesn’t only connect you with contacts you already know. You are thrust into a hangout with all the other users based on your location so you can chat or hook up with people locally. You can also move around a world map and wherever you decide to land it will bring up a list of people using the app in that country. We checked out Malaysia, Italy, Austria, USA and Hong Kong among others and found people to chat to.

For people looking for a date it’s a really easy way to see and speak to people and meet potential matches as it will pair you with people based on how much info you put in your profile. The more filters you put in place, the better your matches will be. You can scroll down a list of users with images of all the pouty selfies and abs you like.

If you’re just looking for a random chat because you’re bored or gregarious like that then the app will randomly match you with individuals in private rooms and you can start chatting. If you, or they, want to move on you get another person lined-up straightaway. If you’ve ever used Omegle, you’ll be familiar with this.

Another feature is the random group chat rooms. Like the good old days of MSN messenger you get to talk to a bunch of people at once. Of course, it doesn’t take long before some bloke is asking someone to send him nude pictures.

Yes, to the delight of some, MeowChat lets you also swap photos and voice messages.

Why did I get a download link?

The reason why you might have received a message prompting you to download it is because, if you agree to it, it will send out a notification to all your contacts. So if you don’t have it, there’s a chance everyone you know that does will be pinging you a pesky download link. Twitter has been bombarded with tweets from disgruntled people.

cant even begin to explain the amount of anger I'll have if I receive one more meowchat notification

— Abbb (@abbiewesterberg) July 28, 2014

'getting invited to meow chat' #MeowChat pic.twitter.com/gswvgVdp8f

— ❁ jordan ❁ (@jordanhannawayx) July 26, 2014

But despite the complaints it seems to have worked as it’s become the most downloaded app in Australia, UK and several countries around the world.

Is this going to be the next big thing?

Its user numbers have exceeded a million and this latest round of fame will only see that figure grow. However, it has a long way to go to match the 500 million users of WhatsApp. But this is a different beast to WhatsApp, or Tinder for that matter. If you just want to chat to strangers without looking for anything else this is a great option. It’s an interesting app for social voyeurs being easy to use and by far the most straightforward way to chat to randoms from around the world. It has the best blend of social, messaging and dating we’ve seen so far but those incessant invites may have just managed to put people off.

Have you tried MeowChat? Tell us what do you think of the app @newscomauHQ @JimmyBillington

Originally published as MeowChat. What is it and why is everyone talking about this app?