# Cocoon - Private Sharing

> Private social network for sharing daily life with an inner circle. (iPhone/iPad app by Glasswing Inc.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cocoon-private-sharing/id1439649269 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Glasswing Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1439649268)
- Category: Social Networking, Lifestyle
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.45/5 from 469 App Store ratings · 50 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 155 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2019-02-12
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cocoon-private-sharing/id1439649269/reviews.md

## What is Cocoon?

Cocoon is a private app for sharing daily life with your inner circle, away from the noise of social media. You can use Cocoon to:

• See a personalized Daily Album of photos and videos shared by your network
• Share little moments in your life with just the people you want to be sharing with
• Reply and react privately to the moments shared with you, in groups or 1:1
• Create walled-off Cocoons for your most important groups to message and share photos, locations, activity, and more
• Talk live with audio/video in a joinable call that anyone in your group can hop into if they're free
• Share health and fitness activity with just your trusted inner circle, through an integration with the Health app

Usage of Cocoon is subject to our Terms of Use (EULA):
https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

## Key features

- Personalized Daily Album
- Private moment sharing
- Group and 1:1 private replies
- Walled-off group Cocoons
- Live audio/video calls
- Health and fitness activity sharing

## What do users think of Cocoon?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Excellent for staying connected with distant family
- 🎨 Beautiful, minimalist, elegant design
- 🔒 Private, secure space away from public social media
- 📸 Convenient photo vault feature for organizing shared images
- 😌 Non-intrusive, no excessive notifications
- 💬 Easy to use and intuitive interface
- 🌍 Location sharing feature appreciated by families
- ✨ Thoughtful way to passively share updates

**Cons**

- 💀 App appears abandoned after acquisition by Substack
- ⏱️ No updates in over a year
- 🍎 iOS-only, no Android support
- 📱 Requires phone number to sign up (excludes iPod/iPad users)
- 🔐 Severely insecure 6-letter password system
- 🔧 Broken help center and unresponsive support
- 📊 Limited to single cocoon per account
- 🎯 Landscape mode not supported on iPad
- 🚫 No ability to delete individual photos after posting
- 💳 Misleading subscription option when app is unsupported

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Apple share extension broken, causes errors
- App crashes when adding photos on iPhone 11 Pro Max
- Home timeline not updating for days
- Weather information shows 'not available'
- Member status information not updating
- Invitation key system doesn't work
- Comments overlay all photos in a group instead of single photo
- Safari content blockers not honored, causing pop-ups on shared links
- Language input conversion issues (Japanese text not converting properly)
- App no longer appears on Play Store

**Most requested features**

- GIF integration and support
- Multiple cocoons per user account
- Search functionality for past conversations
- Notifications center or activity feed
- Customizable app icon or monogram personalization
- More reaction options beyond 'like'
- Collective family calendar with event/schedule visibility
- Video calling/sharing capability
- Support for non-Apple devices (Android)
- Better language support (Japanese, etc.)
- More color options for user profiles (beyond 12)
- Widget for iOS showing cocoon activity
- Media sharing categories (movies, music, books)
- Private direct messaging between specific members
- Location-based notifications
- Ability to delete individual photos (not just groups)
- Better timestamp visibility on posts

## Recent user reviews (10 of 50)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cocoon-private-sharing/id1439649269/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Unsure if its dead, but hasn’t been updated in some time

*2023-02-10, version 3.1.3*

A couple friends recommended I try cocoon in place of FB/WA/Vero. I really enjoy the privacy and control, but am concerned because I’m not able to upgrade to the paid membership anywhere and it doesn’t seem like this app has been updated in over a year.

Super bummed, hope Cocoon wasn’t abandoned after their Substack acquisition.

### 3/5 — Abandonware, sadly

*2022-07-15, version 3.1.3*

This had so much potential, but the entire dev team got acquired and there hasn’t been an update in months, and it’s impossible to coax people into something with no future. If someone else would take it up, it’s a five star app - particularly loved the flight status sharing.

### 2/5 — Great app but no longer supported

*2022-03-28, version 3.1.3*

My family started using this app during the pandemic to keep in touch; it’s really great. However, it is seemingly no longer supported — the team was acquired by another company and even though the announcement said this app would continue “independently”, the help center link is broken and their contact email address returns as undeliverable. (I discovered this when my dad got a new phone and could no longer find the app on the Play store.) Really disappointing that they aren’t more upfront about the lack of continued support — and it seems borderline unethical to charge people a subscription too! We don’t pay for a subscription but like, don’t give people the option to pay monthly for your app if you’re not going to continue supporting it, that’s just gross. My family will be finding a different app, sadly.

### 5/5 — Will this project continue?

*2022-03-26, version 3.1.3*

Cocoon seems ok, just want to know if you plan on continuing the project or if it will die in a couple years? I don’t want to waste my time to get family and friends involved if it’s just going to disappear, but it’s the best thing I have seen so far.

### 4/5 — Superb idea and app with one new problem

*2021-11-26, version 3.1.3*

Love using this app with my family. It’s our go to app and allows us to enjoy communicating fun photos and news items and saving iMessage for urgent matters only. BUT some bug has surfaced and we can no longer use the Apple share option to share an item without an error. Now we have to copy/paste after opening the app. Way more time consuming and is taking the fun out of sharing. Hope this can be fixed soon.

### 1/5 — Major flaw for an app that is geared toward the family.

*2021-08-29, version 3.1.1*

Pretty simple major flaw: you must have a phone number to use it. Many families have children with iPods or iPhones with no phone number yet. Seems like a really poor decision to require a phone number. Makes it unusable.

### 4/5 — A Suggestion

*2021-08-03, version 3.1.1*

Search. Right now it’s nearly impossible to find an old conversation

### 5/5 — Umm..

*2021-07-09, version 3.0.2*

I’m on a iPad I don’t have a phone number I have a email why can’t u use that?

### 3/5 — Very nice but not quite there yet

*2021-06-20, version 2.1.11*

It really is a beautiful app, works well, and has a lot of potential. But there’re a few gaps that keep it from becoming my primary family messaging app. K so I hate to give so much weight to something as petty as gifs, but I apparently use this feature so much elsewhere that the absence of a gif integration on Cocoon is a huge drawback for me. A widget for iOS 14 with like a snapshot of what’s going on in each cocoon would be a great way to subtly notify us of activity throughout the day. Also would like to see a collective calendar that lets you see events, flights, work schedules, etc for the group at a glance. (Bonus points if it could show collective availability to simplify selecting commonly free dates for getting together IRL) And finally, maybe some more categories to quickly share. for instance: media sharing like what we’re watching, reading, listening to, with the ability of engage in inline discussions about those topics. Every time a new episode comes out, or album drops, or a chapter is read, discussing what happened would be so interesting— Anywayy I’ve only just started using cocoon so hopefully I haven’t just missed these features from being a new user. I have high hopes and will keep my eye on release notes as they continue to update.

**Developer response:** Hi, thank you so much for the detailed reviews! All great feedback and suggestions. We just released GIF support with a built-in GIF picker for replies and new posts if you want to check that out :)

### 5/5 — Love this app!!

*2021-01-06, version 2.1.3*

We were users of Path before that discontinued. I’ve been using this app with my family for the better part of a year, and I just love it! I gravitate to using this app far more than other social media because these are the people I care most about and want to share things with FIRST! It’s easy to share, to comment, to discuss, and to even look at things shared in the past!

## Frequently asked questions about Cocoon

### What is Cocoon?

Cocoon is a private application designed for sharing daily life moments exclusively with your inner circle. It allows you to share photos, videos, locations, and activities with specific groups or individuals, free from the noise of public social media.

### What are the key features of Cocoon?

Key features include a personalized Daily Album of shared content, the ability to share moments privately with chosen contacts, private replies and reactions, dedicated 'Cocoons' for specific groups, live audio/video calls, and integration for sharing health and fitness activity.

### Is Cocoon free to use?

Based on the provided information, the application is free to use. There are no mentions of subscription fees or in-app purchases within the description.

### What kind of content can I share on Cocoon?

You can share various daily life moments, including photos, videos, locations, and health and fitness activity. The app is designed for intimate sharing with your trusted inner circle.

### Who is Cocoon for?

Cocoon is for individuals who want to share their daily lives privately with a select group of people, such as close friends and family, without the broader audience of traditional social media platforms.

## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 3.1.4 — 2023-06-09

Displays a notice about planned shutdown date

### 3.1.3 — 2021-10-12

*Cocoon is a private app for sharing daily life with your closest people*

- Minor fixes and improvements

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*