A social app under a glossy sky

Zurbax is a small social network in the Frutiger Aero style: the bubbles, water, glass and green fields of mid-2000s design, with the calm pace of the old internet. Free, no ads, no feed that decides for you.

Get it for Android Open it on an iPhone or a computer

On an iPhone, open zurbax.com in Safari and tap install: it becomes a full-screen app on your Home Screen.

The Pods feed in Zurbax: glassy posts with votes and reactions over a city of glass towers — Pods

Letters in Zurbax: sealed envelopes from strangers — Letters

Bubbles, the short video feed in Zurbax — Bubbles

Your page

The pretend stock market in Zurbax — Investments

What's inside

Letters from strangers

Two sealed letters land every few hours. Write back and make a pen pal, throw a message in a bottle, or seal a time capsule for your future self.

Pods

Little communities for the things you like. Post, vote, react, add polls and song cards, gift Bubbles to posts you love.

Bubbles

Short vertical videos from everyone, or just from your friends. Swipe up for the next, double-tap to love one, comment, share.

Your page

Move anything anywhere with the Free layout: stickers, photos, links, a fish tank people can feed, profile songs, a background of your own.

Trading cards

Thirty glossy collectibles with serial numbers. A free card a day, packs that flip open, and an auction house where you bid Bubbles on other people's.

Chat

Messages with replies, voice notes, stickers, doodles, reactions and MSN-style nudges. Pip, the droplet mascot, always answers.

Pixel studio

Paint avatars, doodles and gallery pieces on a pixel canvas, with palettes from every era of the desktop.

Looks

Frutiger Aero by default, plus old Mac looks (Snow Leopard, Platinum 8, Big Sur, Monterey, Liquid 26), Galaxy looks (One UI Classic, TouchWiz) and Windows ones (Retro 95, Luna XP, Glass 7).

Questions

Is it free?

Yes. Everything above is free. Bubbles, the in-app currency, come from checking in, quests and the market. Aurora is an optional supporter tier for extra shimmer.

Where does it run?

Android (an app you download from this site), iPhone (add it to your Home Screen from Safari and it runs full screen) and any computer's browser.

Is there an algorithm?

Pods sort by hot, new or top with a formula you can read. Letters arrive on a timer, not a ranking. Nothing is optimised to keep you scrolling.

Who made it?

A small independent project. Zurbax isn't affiliated with Apple, Samsung or Microsoft; the window styles are homages to design eras people miss.