Giggles, A Fast-Growing Social App, Debuts Revamp And Hits Top 50 On The U.S. App Store

NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Giggles, a fast-growing social video app, today relaunched with a ground-up redesign that introduces Aura, an in-app points system for interacting with videos from creators, and collectible trend cards.

The relaunch marks a clear break from the trading mechanics Giggles was previously known for. The app is now a short-form video platform where users create, watch, and share content across comedy, food, sports, music, and memes. Aura replaces the old economy with a simpler one: it is earned by participating, spent on interactions and creator rewards, and has no cash value. Trend cards are digital collectibles that mark viral moments on the platform. They are earned and collected with Aura and exist to celebrate the content, memes, and creators that define the internet.

Built with the community

The redesign follows months of direct conversations with hundreds of Giggles users and creators about what they actually wanted from the app.

Alongside the new direction, Giggles shipped its largest set of technical improvements to date. The update eliminates the UI lag that affected earlier versions, fixes server-side issues that hurt performance at scale, and rebuilds the platform's moderation systems from the ground up.

Going the other way

The relaunch comes as the industry moves in the opposite direction. Major platforms are increasingly turning engagement into something to wager on, and AI-generated content and automated accounts are making it harder for real people to surface. In June 2026, The New York Times reported that Meta is developing a standalone prediction-market app that would let users bet on real-world events.

"Giggles started as a place to have fun, and this brings it back to that," said Justin Jin, co-founder and CEO of Giggles. "We spent the last few months talking to our users, and they were clear. They want to create, watch, and connect. So we built Aura as a simpler way to interact, and rebuilt the app to be faster, safer, and more fun. This is the Giggles we always wanted to make."

"We tore out everything that was holding the app back," said Edwin Wang, co-founder and CTO. "The lag is gone, the server issues are fixed, and moderation has been rebuilt from scratch. What we're shipping today is the most stable and safest version of Giggles we've ever put out, and it's the foundation for everything that comes next."

The redesigned Giggles is available now on the App Store. An Android version is planned before Q4 of 2026.

About Giggles

Giggles is a social video app for teenagers, founded in 2025 by Justin Jin and Edwin Wang. Users create, share, and discover short-form video across comedy, food, sports, music, memes, and more. To learn more, download Giggles on the App Store or visit giggles.me.

Media Contact:
Justin Jin
justin@giggles.me