What’s Bondee? The new social media app making waves in Malaysia
Bondee has been making waves in Malaysia recently, and we finally caved in to our curiosity to see what it’s all about.
We’ve known about Bondee for quite some time now, but it didn’t really pique our interest until we came across this viral tweet from Mydin:
With 5,000+ retweets and counting, we decided it was time for us to take the plunge. Read on to find out more about this rapidly new viral app, and what makes it so appealing.
What’s Bondee?
Bondee was developed by Singapore-based tech startup Metadream, which may explain why Malaysia is among its first viral touchpoint. Aside from Malaysia and Singapore, this app is raging across Thailand and the Philippines, accumulating over 5 million downloads on Google Play Store alone. According to Bondee’s official website, this is a “next-generation social app” that allows users to interact in a “new virtual world that simulates living with friends.”
After dipping our toes into the Bondee-sphere, we can understand why it’s making the rounds. Here’s what so appealing about Bondee.
You get to design your own Avatar and update your Status
If you came across any funky avatars on your socials recently, there’s a high chance it’s a Bondee avatar. Creating your unique avatar is the first thing you have to do before playing Bondee. This is what will represent you in the Bondee universe! Don’t worry, you can edit your avatar any time you wish.
Pick a cool hairstyle, throw on some trendy outfits, deck yourself with some bling bling and let’s get going!
One of the fun things you can do with your avatar is update its status. Select from a variety of preset animations that reflect your current mood, and accompany it with a caption or with a picture! In some way, it’s a little like if Twitter and Instagram met in a 3D world.
You get to customize your own space
Part of what makes Bondee fun is that you can customize your own virtual room! Think of it like Sims, but a much scaled down version. Nevertheless, the idea of personalizing your own little nook is always appealing and we had major fun pretending to be interior designers.
All you vainpots will be interested to know that you can even upload a photo of yourself into the photo frame.
Photo by @MydinMalaysia
Keep in mind Bondee is a social app, so don’t forget to add your friends! The more friends you have, the more rooms you can stick your nose in and kepo kepo. Likewise, you may also invite your friends to check out your space. Don’t forget to leave a note for those nosy visitors!
Photo by @Mydin Malaysia
Set sail with Bondee Floating
Probably our favourite part of Bondee is the Bondee Floating mode. Bondee Floating is a Zen-like virtual ocean your that avatar can sail through. In our short time on the app, we’ve only encountered the wide open seas and the sunny horizon. Apparently, if you stay on long enough you’ll come across scenic views of mountains and aquamarine life.
What’s cool about Bondee Floating is that you can throw bottles with your own message written inside in hopes that another user will find it. Along the way, you can pick up bottled messages from other users and read their message from across the voyage!
From our experience so far, we can’t reply to these messages. However, a reply feature is already available in some versions. Fingers crossed we’ll get it soon!
UPDATE: We found some jellyfish and picturesque mountains! We recommend putting your avatar on ‘Offline Floating’ mode, instead of exiting Bondee Floating entirely.
You get to play with friends and family
Don’t get too carried away in your own world you forget to let others in. Like any social media app, Bondee is best experienced with your closest circle. The more friends you have, the more interactions you’ll receive. It’ll also serve as inspiration to see how others deck their own spaces.
You can add your friends via sharing your unique ID, or with a QR code.
Want to get on the Bondee hype? Download Bondee now!
The more friends you have, the more your neighbourhood will stack up like abang Mydin here:
