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- Wimkin said its users grew by around 20% after the Capitol Riots, before Google removed the app.
- “We don’t plan to close,” said Jason Sheppard, founder of Wimkin.
- A Google spokesperson said it does not allow apps that “describe or facilitate gratuitous violence.”
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
Alternative social network Wimkin saw a spike in new users of around 20% in the 12 days from Capitol Hill headquarters to Monday, when Google pulled it from its App Store, its founder said.
Jason Sheppard told Insider that he gained around 55,000 new users, crossing the 300,000 user mark.
Now, after both Google and Apple remove the app, new users will need to download Wimkin directly from the company’s home page. This will make it more difficult to add users accustomed to app stores. But the social network does not plan to leave it.
“We don’t plan to close,” Sheppard said.
Wimkin launched in August 2020 as a free speech social network, an alternative to bigger sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Some users who have been banned or suspended from large social networks have found new audiences on smaller alternative networks. Talking, for example, was shot at the top of the App Store after the Capitol siege.
Apple and Google have deleted both Parler, which turned dark when it was also deleted from its host, Amazon Web Services. The Parler website came back online this week.
For Wimkin, Apple and Google each cited a lack of moderation for dangerous content, according to messages shared by the company.
A Google spokesperson told Insider, “We don’t allow apps that depict or facilitate gratuitous violence or other dangerous activity.”
Read more: How Silicon Valley Banned Donald Trump In 48 Hours
Wimkin said Google and Apple sent him nine screenshots (four from Google and five from Apple) as part of a back-and-forth exchange on Wimkin’s moderation.
In these screenshots, shared with Insider, a user called for the formation of a militia in Washington on January 6. Others presented violent general rhetoric. One message, which was accompanied by a photo of President Donald Trump, read: “It is time for all patriots to prepare for a possible armed conflict with the traitors who are trying to destroy our country.”
Like Speak, Wimkin stepped up its moderation efforts after Google and Apple called for changes. The company has increased its moderation team from four to eight people, he said. It was more than enough “to control the content,” Sheppard said.
It also said it was increasing word ban filters, adding Google Vision, an image recognition system, and making other updates. Nonetheless, Sheppard said he was made aware of the Google removal decision on Monday evening.
“We are being treated completely unfairly and if we are not reinstated when we have worked tirelessly to comply and become a better platform, we will at the very least seek legal recourse to shed light on this tyrannical monopoly,” Sheppard said via email.
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