The Brief: Yarn is an app that tells stories through text message.

Bluesquiggle
DEEP DIVE

What is Yarn?

Yarn is a chat fiction app in which stories of a variety of genres are told through fictional text message exchanges. Stories appear message by message, requiring viewers to tap to see each new message. They fall under categories including romance, drama, celebrities, SciFi/fantasy, comedy, and horror/mystery.

Yarn readers must sign up for a paid subscription to view most stories. Subscriptions cost $20 a month or $100 a year.

Yarn is the #3 rated app in the “Books” category in Apple’s app store. Other similar apps include HOOKED, READIT, LEAK, EPISODE, yOwl, and others.

The app has inspired a YouTube reaction video trend in which YouTubers read texts from Yarn aloud, adding their own commentary:

Teens & Yarn

The style of the app and the content of the stories cater to teen audiences. Chat stories often include images and are designed to draw readers in and keep them coming back to the app.

According to the app store, Yarn is intended for users ages 17 and up due to the adult content (sex, violence, drug use, profanity, horror) often featured in its stories. However, there is no age verification process to ensure that younger users don’t use Yarn.

In addition to their adult content, Yarn’s melodramatic stories can be disturbing and/or scary for children and teens. It is important to have conversations with your kids about what types of content and apps are appropriate for them.