Houseparty: the viral app that may just save your social life during lockdown

All you need to do is download Houseparty, an app that allows you to meet up with your mates — and random strangers — without ever going near them.

Once downloaded, the app tells users who are online and from there other online users can live-call them and hang out. 

Unlike a normal FaceTime call, the app allows people to interact with each other in fun ways like playing games, watching TV or going on dating apps together.

In the time before the coronavirus, the app had been moderately popular among Generation Z users but as lockdowns spread across the globe its popularity among older generations has skyrocketed.

According to the Financial Times, last week the app garnered over two million downloads in comparison to roughly 130,000 during the same week a month ago and as of March 24 was the number-one ranked app in 17 countries including the UK, Spain and Italy.

The app tries to mimic an actual houseparty so up to eight friends can join in on another friend's conversation. Kind of like if someone in real life found you and a group of friends talking and decided to see what was potting.

Before you start fretting about privacy, users do have the ability to lock conversations so that only certain people can join.