Aug. 21, 2026, 7:03 a.m. ET
Social media is flocking to a new messaging app, and I decided to hop on the feather-laden bandwagon.
Roost (available on iOS and Android) is a newly released mobile app that allows users to send messages to long-distance friends at the rate of an actual bird’s speed (or another animal’s). Think traditional snail mail but digital and with birds delivering messages, not a postman.
Since its release in April, Roost has grown a global user base. Creator Logan Mendelsohn told USA TODAY on Aug. 18 that the app boasts more than 700,000 users, and this week I became one of them.
The popularity of an app like Roost isn’t surprising. More and more young people are turning toward low- or no-tech lives, tired of the endless scroll most of us face for hours each day. Gen Z is buying “dumb phones” that only allow call and text or attending underground parties where phones aren’t allowed in. Millennials are reliving their childhoods by installing rotary landlines. Some are even carrying “analog bags,” full of activities one can enjoy without picking up a phone. It’s no wonder folks are turning to an app that promotes a slower type of communication style, while remaining digitally accessible.
Roost isn’t the only app of its kind. In April, software developer Noah Iarrobino released Carrier Pidge, which functions almost identically to Roost. Despite the coincidence, both creators told USA TODAY they weren’t aware of each other’s ideas. I chose to play around with Roost because I knew of other people who had the app.
Is it worth trying Roost? Here are my thoughts with the slow messaging app.
See USA TODAY try the Roost app
My experience with Roost
I love snail mail. Little is more magical than opening the mailbox and seeing the handwriting of a loved one. Letters take time. They take energy. They take love. I wasn’t sure if sending a virtual letter via a virtual bird would really strike the same chord.
And though I was right about that − nothing beats folding up some some notebook paper, sliding it into an envelope and slapping a stamp on the front – Roost is a lot of fun.
Upon downloading the app and creating an account, I was asked to select four starter animals from an exhaustive list. I’m not a birder, but I enjoyed seeing so many different options. Each has its own name and flight speed. For my starting “rookery,” I chose a mallard, rock dove, loon and red-eared slider turtle, the latter of which travels at a mere 2 miles per hour (I haven’t used that one yet).
The next step was having friends to send messages to. Fortunately, my colleague and friend Jenna Hecker has an account so I was able to quickly send her message. Well, it took nine hours for my message to deliver via my loon, who I affectionately named Shane (“Heated Rivalry” fans know). Jenna sent me a message via bird at around the same time; it took 11 hours to make its way to me.
Users must have (long-distance) friends on the app
The downfall of Roost is users can only send messages to others with the app. I was able to convince my best friend and brother to download Roost, but it could be cool if it was available as an iMessage App, allowing users to send messages via bird to anyone in their contacts.
I’ll add that Roost really only makes sense for long-distance friends. The novelty of the app is that it takes hours (or even days) for a message to be delivered because of distance and time traveled. Sending a message to a friend in the same city seems, at least in my opinion, to defeat the purpose.
Roost does offer a pen pal program, in which users can create an anonymous profile to connect with other users around the world also interested in meeting strangers. These are anonymous and set up similar to a dating profile, with users selecting their preference in letter types (short and casual versus longer and conversational) and answering one of a handful of prompts to get a conversation starting. Pen pals can only send letters to each other once both users have accepted the connection. I sent a request to connect to another user in Malaysia but as of Aug. 19, I hadn’t heard anything back.
Will I keep using Roost?
I don’t expect to keep Roost on my phone for long. With only three friends on the app, I think its novelty will run out pretty quickly. Besides, I would rather just pen a real letter anyways.
What do others think of Roost?
With more than half a million users, most who have given Roost a spin are fans. As of Aug. 19, the app had a 4.8 out of 5 star rating from 1,400 reviews on the Apple App Store and 4.7 star rating from 4,200 reviews on the Google Play Store.
USA TODAY senior video producer Jenna Hecker downloaded Roost in May and said for the first two months, she used the app regularly.
“What I enjoy most about Roost is the thought that I’m making a friend wait hours, days, weeks and even months when I sent a snail to Montana, just for a message that says ‘hi’ or is a nonsense gif,” she said. “Since I only have three real-life friends on the app to communicate with, I tried out the pen pal feature twice to talk to other people (but also to get my birds some international flight XP). I haven’t used it as much recently, but I still get a thrill collecting a new bird.”
USA TODAY books reporter Clare Mulroy said Roost was the perfect way to keep up with 30 new friends following a reporting trip abroad.
“I got a kick out of sending a snail all the way to Chicago containing nothing but a gif,” she said. “I loved collecting new birds. I promptly convinced half a dozen friends and family members to download it. It was a brief, spectacular obsession: I found myself out of storage data and overwhelmed by yet another communication app. But I do miss that magical silliness of digital carrier pigeons, which reminded me to slow down and wait in this world of instant gratification.”
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
