Can virtual socialising apps outlast the pandemic?

Although the future of remote work is largely in the hands of employers, the future of remote entertainment will come down to what happens once consumers are free to resume the same face-to-face activities they were enjoying two years ago. — Dreamstime/TNS

For its first few years, Teleparty seemed doomed to be a niche product. The browser extension, which lets multiple people sync up their Netflix accounts so they can watch the same thing at the same time, was a hit among couples in long-distance relationships. Otherwise, few people had even heard of it.

And then, in March 2020, the app suddenly found itself with a planet's worth of potential users.