Introducing the Vocal App
It's finally here...
Download the Vocal app:
2022 has been a year of explosive growth for Vocal. At the heart of our product strategy, we have remained laser-focused on building social-oriented features to foster community across the platform. A perfect highlight of this was the recent release of our most requested feature, Comments. With over 25,000 comments exchanged and counting, this feature was the most quickly adopted in Vocal history.
As momentum continues to build in our community, we feel there is no better time than now to release our most highly anticipated product development. Today, we are pleased to announce that we are launching the beta version of the Vocal app.
After years of creators asking “when?”, we are honored to share our biggest release yet with our most valued community of creators. Vocal+ members will be the first to experience the Vocal app with exclusive early access.
What to expect
Based on the insights and feedback we’ve gathered through the years since Vocal’s inception, the first version of our app is focused on readers. It provides everyone the ability to easily discover curated stories, support creators, and participate in engaging conversation. The app will unlock a whole new level of community engagement that we are confident will translate into more reads for creators, more subscribers, more connectivity, and more opportunities for conversations to blossom and partnerships to emerge.
In the first release, you will have the ability to:
- Like and share stories
- Follow your favorite creators by subscribing
- Join the conversation through commenting
- Customize your library and check your feed for new stories
Future roadmap
This first release is just the beginning. In creating our roadmap, we are always considering what features will provide the greatest value to our creators. We are eager to share a slate of powerful features poised to further solidify Vocal as the homebase for creators. Below are some of the features we are working on:
Activity Feed: An in-app notification system that provides real-time alerts to users when actions such as likes, new subscribers, comments, and new story publishing take place.
Vocal Coins: A new payment system inside Vocal, which tokenizes our in-app currency, and will include updates to how tips, pledges, and all payments on Vocal take place.
Creator Chat: The ability for pledged subscribers to communicate directly with creators they are supporting, through live chat built directly into Vocal.
Subscriber Only Stories: The ability for creators to share stories only to their subscribers, incentivizing audience growth and revenues for creators.
Audio Stories: We are exploring ways for stories to transform from text to audio, where written stories can turn into podcasts, through text-to-speech technology. This feature is perfect for consuming Vocal anywhere on the go.
More Personalized Story Feeds: We take pride in our curation, but as we continue to grow our reader base through the Vocal app, we are making improvements to put the best quality stories in front of creators on an individual level.
Dark Mode: The first release of the app features a clean white aesthetic that matches our site. If you are a fan of dark mode, you can rest assured that it is coming soon.
Android App: Although the beta is only available to iOS users, we have love for Android too. We expect to release the Android version of the app in August, fingers crossed.
How to get the beta
If you are a Vocal+ member, you will receive an email from the Vocal Team inviting you to join the open beta. The beta is only available to Vocal+ creators with an iOS device.
In order to get the app, there are two steps:
- Download TestFlight, Apple’s testing application, from the App Store.
- Join the beta by clicking the ‘Get the App’ button in the email invitation.
Once the app is downloaded via TestFlight, you can access the Vocal app from your home screen at any time.
Your feedback matters
We are particularly excited to give early access to the app to Vocal+ members because we believe the feedback of our most loyal users is critical to shaping the future of the app. Sending feedback from within the app is easy using the steps below.
- Take a screenshot by clicking the buttons on the side of your phone.
- Tap the preview of the screenshot while it is in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. This will open the photo editor.
- Tap the share icon in the top right corner of the editor.
- Tap the 'Share Beta Feedback' button (found below the 'Copy' button).
- Write your feedback where it says ‘Tell us about your experience’.
- Tap 'Submit' in the top right corner of the screen. This will send the feedback directly to our developers!
When will the app be available to everyone?
The app will be available for download from the App Store in mid-August. We can’t wait to share our app with the larger Vocal community and public.
This app release is a labor of love and something we’ve been looking forward to internally since Vocal was born. As always, let us know what you think in the comments below and keep creating. There’s a new generation of readers waiting to discover your original content through the Vocal app.
About the Creator
Justin @ Vocal
Founder of Vocal. COO/President of Creatd ($VOCL), the parent company of the Vocal platform.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Keep reading
More stories from Justin @ Vocal and writers in Vocal and other communities.
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Over the last 5 years, creators on Vocal have shared nearly one million stories that have attracted, inspired, and entertained hundreds of millions of readers around the world. In response, readers have provided creators with valuable insights and feedback via Likes, Tips, and Pledges to show their support.
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By Vocal Team7 days ago in Resources
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By Andy Potts4 days ago in Longevity
Blossom
A dead past does not put a halt to a new future. A year later, Kaffy, a highly intelligent, creative, bookish, and preppy Nigerian-Canadian 15-year-old girl was released from juvenile prison. She was arrested and charged with petty theft and assault, and was sentenced to a year in prison. Her sentence was supposed to be 6 months for stealing a lollipop, a chocolate bar, a pack of playing cards, and a bag of Cheeto's cheesies from 7-Eleven, but she received another 6 months for kicking, punching, and hitting another female inmate across the face during an altercation in the canteen.
By Talia Devora8 days ago in Fiction
Comments (85)
Hi, I have the IOS app; sometimes, it is user-friendly, and other times, it is not. When I have something new published, it doesn't appear on the app unless I log out and back in. Is there a trick I am missing? I just did a hard close (wouldn't that be the same as logging out, since it resets the app?)(IOS), and my newly published poem didn't appear for me. Suggestion for future development: maybe put something on app to show what the small icons mean at the bottom of page? When I click the computer one, it gives me Top Stories.
When is PayPal going to be a way of payment? Stripe is too hard for me to understand. Thank you.
plz provide android app link
Any ETA on when we can create, edit and submit stories directly from the app?
People mostly use mobile phones, including me. I am basically reading only on a mobile phone. having a dark mode would be another plus.
I waiting for the future roadmap on the next version
Nice user interface for reading stories
I am waiting for the Android version!
exellent work this inspired me thanks
In August 2023?
Nice article, love it
When the android version will be available? Waiting eagerly.
I just joined vocal plus.. could you send me an invite for the app please.
Loved and subscribed! Can't wait to read more of your work! Consider having a look at mine and if you like it, please subscribe... there's a lot to come! I look forward to seeing more of your work!
Has the app released yet? It reads mid August, but I've been unable to locate.
Not all people have an Apple product or work from a phone. PAGE me when you embrace those over 60.
I hope the presentation is more detailed
Technology
Hi Can you resend the app email you sent out to me before ? I received it but the email link doesn’t work and it keeps crashing
The biggest thing I wanted to see from Vocal after they announced tips and then pledges was for them to then allow us to reward those who have supported us. I was really hoping they’d move in a similar direction to sites like Ko-Fi. The most sustainable way in my opinion for a writer to make money outside of publishing is to offer locked content behind a paywall and Vocal was sort of becoming sidelined for me because it didn’t offer a paywall option now I can move everything over to Vocal as it’s a complete package and use my Ko-Fi for other projects. I can’t wait til they release this feature. I’m also interested in seeing how the Vocal coins currency works out. Definitely a big step in the right direction.
I'm excited for the app, but I want to know when we will be able to block creators' content from showing up in our feeds? I have particular communities or topics that don't interest me (or outright disgust me) and I don't want to engage with them. When will Vocal give us the customizable feeds that we desire?!
It's only available for iPhones? When will this be available on the Google Play Store?
Please make the app to auto scale on iPad. There are so many who read on iPads specially the mini which is a great all-rounder ereader besides being an ipad.
I would love to have a feature that make it easy to share my stories on other platforms. if at all possible, adding a share button of some sort would be super helpful for writers to get more readers. Dropping a link doesn't always work very well. If you're already planning this, then never mind. I'm very much looking forward to this app.
The reason I don’t like medium’s app is I can’t write from their app. And it looks like the reason I’m about to not like vocal’s app is the same reason. What is up with these lazy programmers being unable to code up a simple text editor?