Blybahn

Blybahn is a Zooma Venture. The idea arose from something we recognize both as tech developers and as parents: concerns about the online world in which our children are growing up. Everyone knows by now that social media is intentionally addictive, and more and more often, algorithms from abroad determine what we see, read, and believe. Banning it isn’t the solution, because the need to share and belong is simply human nature. What we do need, however, is a European alternative.

That’s why Blybahn does things differently. It’s a private space where you can share your most cherished moments with your family and closest friends. No public stage like Instagram, no noise like your WhatsApp group, no endless scrolling, addictive algorithms, or pressure to collect likes. Built in Leiden, on European systems, without ads and without data trading. Just the moments that matter, saved in one place.

What We’ve Built

We wanted a laid-back, European social app that feels like an intimate house party with your closest friends, rather than a noisy platform where you end up getting lost for hours. That translates into a number of deliberate choices. With Blybahn Groups, you create your own inner circle, so the app is fun even with just a handful of people around you. Instead of collecting likes, you respond with Blybahn Stickies: handwritten or hand-drawn notes that are truly personal.

The feed is finite and stops after a certain number of posts, so scrolling never becomes endless. For translations of user content, we partner with the French company Mistral AI, so people across borders can join in effortlessly. And everything runs on European hosting, with privacy by design, no ads, and no data trading. Because Blybahn is our own product, we continue to develop it step by step.