Locket Labs
Locket Labs builds Locket, an iOS widget app that lets users share live photos directly to up to 20 friends' home screens. The freemium consumer app serves teens, families, and privacy-conscious users seeking authentic, pressure-free social sharing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersVenice, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Locket Labs does
Locket Labs, Inc. is a US-based private company founded in 2022 and headquartered in Venice, California, that builds the Locket Widget app for iOS. The product is a home screen widget that lets users share live photos with up to 20 designated friends; each new picture appears instantly on the recipient's home screen the next time they unlock their phone. The app leverages iOS widget APIs to deliver real-time photo updates without requiring users to open a traditional feed, supplemented by features such as friend-specific widgets (Best Friend, Crush), emoji reactions, photo history with monthly video recaps, streaks, and the 2025-introduced Rollcall group sharing feature. The technical differentiator is the widget-based delivery architecture itself, which embeds social content into the device's primary surface area rather than into a scrollable app.
The business model is freemium. The core app is free, with monetization driven by Locket Gold subscriptions at price points ranging from $1.99 to $36.00 across multiple tiers and durations, supplemented by in-app purchases and third-party advertising. Distribution is entirely through the Apple iOS App Store, with the app available in seven languages worldwide. Customer segments are primarily teens and young adults (13+) seeking pressure-free, authentic sharing, with secondary audiences of families with teenagers (positioning Locket as a safer alternative to mainstream social media) and privacy-conscious users.
The company raised $12.5 million in total funding across 2022 (a $2.5M initial round in January and a $10M round in April led by Costanoa Ventures and Sugar Capital). It reached 20M+ downloads within seven months of launch, earned Apple's Editors' Choice recognition, holds a 4.8-star rating across 526K+ App Store reviews, and ranks #19 in the Social Networking category. The team is 11–50 people, led by founder Matt Moss.
Locket Labs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Locket Labs
- Legal name
- Locket Labs, Inc.
- Website
- https://locketcamera.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Locket Labs builds Locket, an iOS widget app that lets users share live photos directly to up to 20 friends' home screens. The freemium consumer app serves teens, families, and privacy-conscious users seeking authentic, pressure-free social sharing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Locket Labs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Venice
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Locket Labs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Locket Gold Subscription: Premium subscription service offering additional features and customization options. Offered at multiple price points ranging from $1.99 to $36.00 for various subscription durations. This is the primary monetization vehicle, keeping the base app free to maximize user acquisition.
- In-App Purchases: Virtual goods and premium features purchased within the app. Multiple Locket Gold tiers available at different price points ($1.99, $2.99, $3.99, $4.99, $16.00, $36.00).
- Advertising: Third-party advertising displayed within the app. Privacy data indicates location, device ID, usage data, and advertising data are collected for advertising purposes. This is a secondary revenue stream.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Locket Gold - Entry tier |
| Subscription | Monthly | Locket Gold - Standard tier |
| Subscription | Monthly | Locket Gold - Premium tier |
| Subscription | Annual | Locket Gold - Extended tier |
| Subscription | Annual | Locket Gold - Annual tier |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Locket Labs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Locket Labs develops and operates the Locket Widget app, an iOS application that lets users send live photos directly to the home screens of up to 20 close friends via iOS widgets. The free app monetizes through an optional "Locket Gold" premium subscription and in-app purchases that unlock additional features, icons, and customization options.
Product overview
Locket Labs offers a unified product centered on the Locket Widget app - a photo-sharing widget that displays live pictures from best friends directly on users' iPhone home screens. The core product allows instant photo sharing between up to 20 friends, with photos appearing every time users unlock their phones. The premium tier, Locket Gold, provides enhanced features through in-app purchases. The 2025 Rollcall feature extends group sharing capabilities, making the app function more like a small social network while maintaining its focus on intimate, close-friend connections.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Locket Widget App A free iOS app that lets users share live photos with up to 20 close friends, displaying the latest pictures directly on the home screen widget each time the phone is unlocked. Designed for teens, young adults, and families seeking authentic, low-pressure sharing with close contacts.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20 million+ downloads within first 7 months of launch (January-August 2022)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Locket Labs
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Locket Labs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Locket Labs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Locket Labs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Instagram: Meta-owned Instagram has introduced Close Friends and Notes features that directly target intimate-circle sharing, making it the most relevant broad incumbent whose product expansion could erode Locket's niche.
- Snapchat: Snapchat is the dominant photo-messaging incumbent with Snap Map, Stories, and intimate friend features that overlap heavily with Locket's use case among the same teen demographic; a broad incumbent with deep platform distribution.
- WhatsApp: WhatsApp is Meta's global private-messaging incumbent and the dominant intimate-circle communication channel; while not photo-sharing native, it competes for the same 'sharing with close friends/family' moments on the home screen.
Direct peers
- BeReal: BeReal pioneered the 'authentic, unfiltered, intimate-circle social sharing' category that Locket occupies, with a similar teen/young-adult target and anti-Instagram positioning — the closest direct competitor in concept and audience.
- Marco Polo: Marco Polo is a video-messaging app built around private, asynchronous sharing within close friend circles — a strong comparable for Locket's intimate-connection model but in video rather than photo format.
Emerging players
- Poparazzi: Poparazzi is an early-stage app focused on friends tagging each other in photos without selfies — a direct emerging peer in the 'authentic, non-selfie, intimate photo' category targeting the same Gen Z audience as Locket.
- Dispo: Dispo (formerly David's Disposable) replicates disposable-camera photo sharing among friend groups with a delayed-reveal aesthetic — directly competes with Locket for the 'analog-feeling, real-moment' social positioning.
- Yik Yak: Yik Yak is an anonymous, location-based community app targeting college-age users — adjacent emerging peer in the 'authentic local connection' category with overlapping Gen Z demographic.
Others
- Life360: Life360 is a family-location and coordination app that competes for the 'family closeness' use case and home-screen real estate — relevant as an adjacent ecosystem player whose family-safety positioning overlaps Locket's family segment.
- Frontback: Frontback was an earlier photo-sharing app that pioneered front+back camera simultaneous capture — an adjacent historical comparable whose shutdown highlights the fragility of niche consumer photo-sharing businesses.
Market position
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Locket Labs social profiles
Digital presenceLocket Labs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Locket Labs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Locket Labs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Locket Labs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Locket Labs
What does Locket Labs do?
Locket Labs develops and operates the Locket Widget app, an iOS application that lets users send live photos directly to the home screens of up to 20 close friends via iOS widgets. The free app monetizes through an optional "Locket Gold" premium subscription and in-app purchases that unlock additional features, icons, and customization options.
Is Locket Labs a public or private company?
Locket Labs is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Locket Labs founded?
Locket Labs was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Locket Labs based?
Locket Labs is headquartered in Venice, United States, in the North America region.
How does Locket Labs make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Locket Gold Subscription is the primary driver. The others are in-App Purchases and advertising.
Who are Locket Labs's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp. Direct peers are BeReal and Marco Polo. Emerging players are Poparazzi, Dispo and Yik Yak. Others are Life360 and Frontback.
Does Locket Labs have an API?
No public API is recorded for Locket Labs.