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Yo, Imma let you finish, but for the 6,000 people still using that app on a daily basis ... we have a question: why?

Taylor Swift of apps or ultimate ironic hipster shout-out?

In 2014, the world was graced with yet another social network. This one was special. While Facebook and Twitter were grotesquely stodgy beasts, this app stood out with its almost Scandinavian simplicity. It would allow you to message your friends with the word "Yo!" – and that's it.

This app's name? Yo.

And it quickly caught on, almost becoming a meme in itself. The HBO series Silicon Valley parodied it in the second season with a completely fictitious app called Bro, which aped Yo's functionality in whole.

Youtube Video

That's not surprising. Yo itself was launched as an April Fools' Day prank by Israeli developer Or Arbel at the request of Moshe Hogeg, who at the time was the CEO of the since-defunct Mobli social network. The firm later managed to raise $1m from investors, proving once again that fools and their money are easily parted.

Hogeg now runs Sirin Labs, which manufactures security-focused smartphones for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. The first device from the phone, the Sirin Solarin, cost a cool £11,400, and was launched at a glitzy event featuring (obviously) Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, Yo was a joke that quickly died down. Users moved on. Hogeg moved on.

Except, it wasn't. Not quite. According to mobile analytics house Apptopia, 6,000 people still use Yo on a daily basis. More curiously, the app was downloaded 16,200 times in the month of January across the Apple and Android app stores.

Because Yo doesn't use in-app payments, there's no information on how much it's making its owners, said Apptopia representative Adam Blacker.

"I'm just surprised it's alive," Blacker told The Reg.

The Reg has asked Moshe Hogeg – not via Yo – about his reaction to Yo's enduring fanbase. We'll update if we hear back from him. ®

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