Backpack vs Present IRL
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Backpack
This social media app focuses on sharing curated moments with a limited number of items each week. Content resets weekly, encouraging intentional sharing without follower counts or endless scrolling. Connect with friends through a private feed and discover nearby users.
- Limited item slots per week
- Weekly content reset
- No follower counts
- Friends-only feed
- Nearby user discovery
- Curated weekly snapshots
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Backpack is a small, friendly place for sharing a few of the little things that represent you and your daily life. Pack your slots with music, photos, movies, books, thoughts and more, and keep adding all week. Add your friends and you'll see what they're carrying too, and anything of theirs you love, you can repost into your pocket. Then every week your backpack wipes clean and you start fresh with whatever you're into next. What's inside: - Slots to pack with music, photos, GIFs, thoughts, links and more - A pocket for reposting what your friends packed - A quiet, friends-first feed with no follower counts and no algorithm - A fresh start every week, at the same time for everyone No follower counts to chase. No endless scroll to steal your time. No algorithms or "influencers" or incessant content to consume. Just a concise, honest snapshot of your week that you curate intentionally, and share with the friends who are actually part of your life. Pack your slots and share your own real-life inventory! Terms of Use: https://mybackpack.lol/legal/terms Privacy Policy: https://mybackpack.lol/legal/privacy
Present IRL
Connect with friends and join events in real life. This private social app prioritizes genuine connections without algorithms, ads, or data selling. Currently in early access, requiring an invite to join.
- Connect in real life
- Share and join moments
- Private by default
- No algorithms
- No ads or data selling
- Early access with invite
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From casual hangs to large gatherings, you can share and join moments with those you actually want to stay connected to. Your account is private by default with no algorithms, ads or selling of your data. Present IRL is currently in early access. Join with an invite from someone already on.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Backpack at 100% against Present IRL's 50%. Present IRL's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Backpack sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Present IRL asks for nothing beyond the download.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Backpack | Present IRL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (8 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Jared Heath Defriese | Present IRL LLC |
Customer experience
Backpack
Present IRL
In-app purchases
Backpack
- Backpack+ Monthly$3.991 Month
- Backpack+ Yearly$29.991 Year
Present IRL
No in-app purchases
