Ready for the testi? Friendster returns, sort of

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

MANILA, Philippines — Social networking service Friendster is back online after over a decade, returning as a mobile app for the time being.

While it carries the name Friendster, creators Friendster Labs Inc. has no relation to or access to previous data hosted on the social networking site that was popular during the 2000s, preceding the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

Friendster discontinued user social network accounts in 2011 to focus as a social gaming site. It shut down operations in 2015.

A revived website brands the service as "a simple, private social network designed to help you stay close to the people you'll actually see again" and "connect with people you actually know."

The new Friendster also touted as a platform that has "no advertisements, algorithms, engagement bait, rage farming, feed manipulation, bot accounts, or spam," as well as being a privacy-first platform that does not sell user data.

"Add friends in person (phone-to-phone), then share posts and messages inside your actual friend network — not a follower graph," said Friendster. "Your feed is for friends. Your data stays yours."

Currently the new Friendster is only available as an app on iOS, the proprietary mobile operating system of mobile Apple devices, with no news yet if it will also launch on Android devices or as a website like before.

RELATED: YouTube offers deepfake detection to Hollywood