Gotta Get Down: Controversial Hookup Service Bang With Friends Is Back On iOS
August 30, 2013
The Facebook-connected hookup service Bang With Friends has made its comeback on iOS — not with a bang, it seems, but with a whisper.
The Bang With Friends app for iOS, simply and discreetly called BWF, was released on iOS last May. But less than a week after its launch, the app was pulled by Apple from the App Store.
Bang With Friends cofounder and CEO Colin Hodge was reportedly not informed by Apple of any clear-cut explanation for the app's removal. But it's safe to assume that the app's risqué concept was a major factor. As my colleague Joe noted:
The concept behind BWF is simple. After connecting their Facebook account to the application, users can anonymously select friends whom they are interested in hooking up with. If a match between two users is found, Bang With Friends will notify each person and a relationship can potentially “blossom” from there.Well, Hodge and company have apparently resubmitted the app and been granted another go at helping others get romantic using their iDevices. As mentioned, Bang With Friends is back on iOS, but with an updated app name and concept. The app now goes by the less suggestive name of Down, an allusion to the expression "down to bang." It now also provides a new interface that lets you swipe up if you want to "hang" first with a friend and down if you're "down" with him or her. Down, formerly BWF, is available now in the App Store for free. The app is optimized for iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 6.0 or later. About a month ago, Bang With Friends was sued over its name by Zynga, the social gaming company behind the popular "With Friends" series of games, including Words With Friends, Running With Friends, and Hanging With Friends. While its name change may seem to be in response to Zynga's legal action, that Bang With Friends retains its original name on Android and on the Web suggests that the new Down name has been adopted mainly to appease the Apple App Store approval team's apparent prudery. [gallery link="file" order="DESC"]
