Dubsmash launched in November 2014 and has since been downloaded over 50 million times by users in over 190 countries. The app is available for iOS and Android and allows users to lip sync to audio clips from popular films, songs and internet videos.
Dubsmash has three main channels- Trending, Discover and My Sounds which each feature different audio categories. There are over 40 categories which include sound clips from things such as television appearances, popular songs or even sports games. Users can browse through categories or search to find specific clips as well as upload their own sound clips and then save them to their own soundboard.
When a sound clip has been chosen, the user then mimes into their smartphone camera or films their friends miming, before being able to add filters and text to their videos. The videos are called dubs and can be shared through a tab in the app to social networks such as Facebook or in private messages using apps like Whatsapp. Dubs can also be saved to the smartphone to upload to other online services as the app doesn’t have cloud storage.
The app has reached top of the charts in 29 countries and has a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 on the Apple App Store and 4 stars out of 5 on Google Play. Users must be 14 or over to use Dubsmash and the majority of users are thought to be young teenagers. However the app is also used by celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Lena Dunham and Hugh Jackman, while Rihanna previewed a new single on the app.
As well as celebrities in the UK and US, Dubsmash is also popular with celebrities in India. Both Bollywood stars and badminton players enjoy posting miming dub videos. Videos are sometimes mashed together and appear on YouTube as well as other sites which collect the best dubs and allow people to view them.
The app was created by three German developers Roland Grenke, Jonas and Druppel and Daniel Taschik and was produced by their company Mobile Motion GmbH. The app hasn’t yet encountered any copyright problems but it may become an issue in the future. Dubsmash allows users to share their dubs privately through platforms such as Facebook Messenger or publicly on platforms like Instagram. If the app was to encounter copyright problems for allowing users to pick from sounds, they would be able to restrict the platform to only working with audio clips that the user uploaded themselves. The amount of celebrities, actors and musicians that share dubs with their fans seem to think that there are no issues with users miming along to audio of themselves or they presumably wouldn’t use and endorse the app.
Famous people from the Kardashian and Jenner sisters to Kevin Hart have shared dubs with their Instagram followers, gaining hundreds of thousands of likes and adding to the success of the Dubsmash app. Other notable fans include Cara Delevingne, Adam Levine and even the Swiss army.
Previous apps of the Dubsmash creators include a similar idea called Starlize which allowed users to mix together their own videos and sounds. However, the creators felt that the app was too complicated for its users and there weren’t enough private sharing options. Dubsmash has a simpler interface and there is also an easier to understand user experience which has added to its increased popularity over the previous version.
Dubsmash is able to attract users and celebrities from around the world as it features clips in a large number of languages and it isn’t limited to just popular songs and films. The app also provides user-uploaded sound clips of famous international politicians and popular internet videos such as vines. In countries such as the UK and Holland, Dubsmash has reached the number one spot of the app charts and as its success continues it may be able to knock the most popular apps from the top of the charts in other countries too. It is one of the more unique entertainment apps to be released, offering options for its users and a way to both kill time and impress friends.
