22 Unhinged (but Fake) App Features
In late 2022, screenshots of bizarre app features began going viral on Twitter. they rested right on the border between plausible and absurd. Google will not add Punctuality scores to calendar invitations, but it could if it wanted to. Or what if Instagram sent out an alert if you accidentally liked a three-year-old photo during a late-night stalking session? It could actually be useful as long as the company doeswon’t charge you $5 for it.
Soren Iverson is the man behind memes. As a product designer, Iverson works in one of the more artistic corners of the technology industry. It’s people like Iverson who drive the look, feel, and function of the parts of apps and websites that we actually interact with. The work is creative, but it’s serious business when it comes to apps with millions of users. “These small improvements can have massive impacts when you’re working in a larger ecosystem,” Iverson said.
Iverson started dreaming up weird design elements for existing apps and posting them on Twitter to test and liven them up his own creativity. Apps like iMessage, Uber Eats, Tinder, we interact with them so often that they can feel part of our identity. The more ideas he posted, the more people responded. Eventually, Iverson started posting a new idea every day.
“I think the mental model I’ve used is when a product manager has learned Figma and given in to their most intrusive thoughts,” he said. “Because how seriously I take the work that actually goes into production, that’s a very opposite end of the spectrum. You can just throw out ideas, even if they are crazy.”
Click through to see some of Iverson’s crazier ideas. It’s a reflection of how weird the internet already is, and a culmination of how much fun the tech industry could be if it weren’t an industry. Iverson posts a new idea on his every day Twitter account. He also has a newsletter and a book in progress.
