Virtual Pigeons deliver messages in new messenger app

One new mobile app deliberately aims to slow down digital communication. Carrier Pidge, developed by Noah Iarrobino, an iOS developer, offers a satirical, modern interpretation of the classic communication method using virtual carrier pigeons travelling in real GPS-based time and distances.

Here’s how Carrier Pidge works: Each text is bundled on a virtual pigeon’s legs; the app calculates distance and uses its speed for the delivery time.

Pigeons have a base speed of 110mph; though it gets a 25% random fluctuation which corresponds to simulated wind or tired birds.

Distances are measured by GPS using the same tech that allows you to track and share locations: texting a friend across town takes seconds, texting across the United States takes around 22 hours and sending messages internationally could take days. Once a message is sent, the sender can track their bird’s progress live on a map.

The stakes are incredibly high too: Each of Carrier Pidge’s virtual pigeons has a 0.2% chance of dying mid-flight. If a bird fails their journey, then so does the text message, completely disappearing into the digital ether, forcing the sender to start again.

But wait, there is more… The app comes complete with its own designated birds, your contacts list will be your ‘Flock’ and your conversations take place in an ‘Aviary’ of sorted messages, with the chats in a parchment-style design like historical letters.

Developer Iarrobino described the app as his latest side-project and estimated that he had made it within three weeks.

Designed to be an impractical, humorous experience, Carrier Pidge taps into a cultural trend of ‘slow social media’ where people choose to disconnect from the need for constant immediacy and the pressures to deliver information without delay.

Apple ‘trains’ its own AI model for China market

The risk of losing a pigeon, and the anticipation that comes with watching it journey, can make texts seem like they come with serious stakes.