New York – September 18, 2026 -- Giggles, the fast-growing social video app, has relaunched with a ground-up redesign that swaps its old trading mechanics for a new points system called Aura and a set of collectible "trend cards."
Aura replaces trading with a simple rewards system
Users earn Aura by participating on the app and spend it on interactions and creator rewards. Aura carries no cash value, marking a clear departure from the trading economy the app was previously known for. Trend cards, meanwhile, are digital collectibles earned with Aura that mark viral moments and celebrate creators, memes, and content that define the platform.
The app remains focused on short-form video across five categories
Giggles still functions as a short-form video platform where users create, watch, and share content across comedy, food, sports, music, and memes.
Months of user conversations shaped the redesign
The overhaul followed direct conversations with hundreds of Giggles users and creators about what they wanted from the app. Alongside the new direction, Giggles shipped its largest technical update to date, eliminating UI lag from earlier versions, fixing server-side issues that hurt performance at scale, and rebuilding the platform's moderation systems from the ground up.
The relaunch runs counter to a broader industry trend toward wagering
Major platforms are increasingly turning engagement into something to wager on, while AI-generated content and automated accounts make it harder for real people to surface online. 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.
Co-founders say the update returns Giggles to its original purpose
"Giggles started as a place to have fun, and this brings it back to that," said Justin Jin, co-founder and CEO of Giggles. He said the company built Aura as a simpler way to interact and rebuilt the app to be faster, safer, and more fun.
Edwin Wang, co-founder and CTO, said the team removed everything holding the app back, fixing lag and server issues and rebuilding moderation from scratch. He described the update as the most stable and safest version of Giggles the company has released.
The redesign is live now, with Android arriving before Q4 2026
The redesigned Giggles is available now on the App Store. An Android version is planned before the fourth quarter of 2026.