Starved of social interaction by lockdown restrictions in the spring of 2020, tens of millions of people turned to Houseparty. The app let people dive into group video chats at will, provided they were friends with at least one other participant. The idea was to mimic the organic way in which people might be introduced to one another in the real world. The viral popularity of Houseparty proved to be short-lived; but the app had a certain je ne sais quoi that made it feel—if only for a little while—like…
