I'm #62935 on the waitlist for Daze, an expressive messenger app that's already got over 150,000 signups

Group of diverse young friends checking their mobile phones together while standing in front of a purple wall
(Image credit: Mapodile via Getty Images)

Sometimes, the best way to sell something is to let the product speak for itself. This has been messaging app Daze's approach, to the tune of 8 million views on their most popular TikTok alone

So, what's the draw? Let me paint you a picture: Daze pitches itself as an expressive messaging platform that offers chatters a blank canvas to scrawl all over as opposed to the straight-laced speech bubble back and forth most of us are used to. Their TikTok pitches up with teen drama 'storylines' such as that old chestnut of tick box love confessions to target a distinctly Gen Z audience, but there's a playful, remixing aspect to Daze that's bound to appeal across age groups. 

@daze.chat

♬ Sailor Song - Gigi Perez

According to TechCrunch, these widely watched product demo TikTok videos have resulted in 156,000 signups to its waitlist ahead of Daze's November 4th launch.

Besides sketching up a storm, there's a suite of creative tools on offer, from libraries of gifs and stickers, to photos and fonts. I, for one, can't wait to terrorise my contacts list with some truly retina scarring, noughties era word art missives. To power the app's collaborative canvas vibe, Daze is described as 'leveraging' AI.

In conversation with TechCrunch, project founder Willem Simons didn't go into detail about what sort of heavy-lifting AI is doing for Daze, instead explaining the app's position in the market. The New York-based entrepreneur said:

"Our goal with Daze has been to make a feature complete messenger that is competitive with iMessage, WhatsApp, etc., while still having a suite of really fun and creative features. You can quickly type a message and press send, or drag the message anywhere within the chat. It is easy to use and utilitarian, but also very free and unconstrained."

But, while those product demo videos are very slick, does Daze have any staying power? It's currently in testing with around 1,400 invite-only beta users, and one source close to the company shared with TechCrunch that, of the users that have sent a message on Daze, over 50% of them were still using the app 60 days later. So it may not just be a passing daydream after all.

You'll not have to wait much longer to find out for yourself. Daze has been built using React Native, meaning that it'll launch simultaneously on both iOS and Android devices from November 4th.

Hold on, someone signed up using my referral link and I've been bumped up the waitlist…to #2428. Yeah, I've definitely got my feet on the ground now.

Best handheld gaming PCSteam Deck OLED reviewBest Steam Deck accessories


Best handheld gaming PC: What's the best travel buddy?
Steam Deck OLED review: Our verdict on Valve's handheld.
Best Steam Deck accessories: Get decked out.

Jess Kinghorn
Hardware Writer

Jess has been writing about games for over ten years, spending the last seven working on print publications PLAY and Official PlayStation Magazine. When she’s not writing about all things hardware here, she’s getting cosy with a horror classic, ranting about a cult hit to a captive audience, or tinkering with some tabletop nonsense.

Read more
CHONGQING, CHINA - OCTOBER 30: In this photo illustration - The Facebook app page is displayed on a smartphone in the Apple App Store in front of the Meta Platforms, inc. logo on October 30, 2024 in Chongqing, China. (Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)
Meta might've done something useful, pioneering an AI model that can interpret brain activity into sentences with 80% accuracy
A image representing a typical YouTube tech video thumbnail using joke elements to demonstrate the use of an AI tool
Is time too precious to waste making gurning thumbnails for your YouTube videos? Huzzah for this AI tool that does it all for you, then
The new TeamSpeak overhaul.
TeamSpeak could finally be so back, since it can't stop teasing a new makeover while sneakily encouraging you to delete your Discord account
Nvidia Signs, its AI-led ASL teaching platform
Nvidia has built a free AI-led platform to help teach American Sign Language with '400,000 video clips representing 1,000 signed words' so far
A phone displaying the TikTok logo in front of the US flag.
TikTok users wave goodbye to their 'Chinese spies' as they they ditch the app for another, er, Chinese one
New art of Harry and Kim from Disco Elysium, with Harry holding a lit molotov cocktail.
Despite Disco Elysium Mobile aiming to 'captivate the TikTok user,' it looks surprisingly decent—but it's still insulting to Disco's ousted creators
Latest in Hardware
A Gigabyte RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice on a desk and installed in a gaming PC.
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Eagle OC Ice SFF review
A late afternoon view shows two young women walking past a wall-sized anime mural along Chuo-dori (Central Avenue) in the Akihabara district (known as Electric Town for its maze of electronics stores, but currently considered an almost sacred destination by members of Japan's otaku culture, drawn to Akihabara's video game centers, maid cafes, anime shops, and manga comics), located in Chiyoda Ward in central Tokyo, Japan.
OpenAI's GPT-4o model gets image generation update for all of your anime-style selfie needs
A Nacon Rig Streamstar M2 microphone on white gravel, shot in 3/4 profile
Nacon Rig M2 Streamstar review
1X Technologies humanoid robot, the Neo Gamma, standing alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Huang is wearing an ERL-made studded leather jacket.
Humanoid robot Neo Gamma gifts Nvidia CEO a studded leather jacket and may even be able to one day wash up a cup without dropping it
Razer Blade 16 (2025) gaming laptop
Nvidia RTX 5090 mobile tested: The needle hasn't moved on performance but this is the first time I'd consider ditching my desktop for a gaming laptop
A woman wearing a VR headset with dramatic, colourful lighting across the background
'World’s smallest LEDs' could lead to accurately lit screens with 127,000 pixels per inch and much more immersive VR
Latest in News
Marvel Rivals tier list - Wolverine
Marvel Rivals director says a future patch will reduce the shooter's insatiable hunger for RAM: 'It's a very big problem'
Hogwarts Legacy potions professor holding a potion
An unannounced Hogwarts Legacy expansion and 'definitive edition' have reportedly been cancelled
Story of Seasons - A cahacter in a purple tuxedo stands outside in a town square talking to the player
Story of Seasons is doing another Harvest Moon remake and it might be the best the series has ever looked
Assassin's Creed Shadows change seasons - An upper-body shot of Yasuke looking cheerfully up into the distance.
Assassin's Creed Shadows puts up the 'second highest day-one sales revenue in Assassin's Creed franchise history'
A witch riding a broom sails past a Fish and Chips shop.
Cozy gamers rejoice: Witchbrook finally has a release window, and yes, you can fly around on a broom with your friends
starcraft 2 face
StarCraft fans taunted by the announcement of a new StarCraft... board game