Built an ephemeral event app that deletes itself when the party ends. 3 months in, 107 users, 50% repeat creator rate. Here's what I learned

I built an app that solves a problem everyone has experienced. Here's where I am 3 months in.

The problem that inspired it: you organize an event, create a group chat, the event ends, and the group chat lives on forever. Nobody leaves, the photos are scattered across everyone's camera rolls, and the whole thing becomes digital clutter. Or you skip the group chat entirely and end up messaging everyone individually. Either way it's a mess. It happens every single time.

So I built FadeOut. You create an event, invite your group via a private link, everyone shares photos and chats in one place, and when the event ends everything automatically deletes itself. No leftover group chats. No scattered photos. Just the moment.

The journey so far:

I had no app development background so I worked with a development agency to build it. Getting it live on both iOS and Android took longer than expected, particularly navigating Google Play's 14-day closed testing requirement before going public. We launched in May 2025.

The numbers after a few months:
107 active users
54 events created
50% repeat creator rate

The repeat creator rate is the metric I'm most encouraged by. Half our users have come back to create more than one event which tells me the core loop is working. People who use it once tend to use it again.

What's working: word of mouth within social circles. The product sells itself when someone experiences it at a real event.

What's not working: growth outside my immediate network. That's the challenge I'm focused on now. I've been submitting to app review sites, posting on Reddit, and looking for a Product Hunt hunter. Early days on all of these.

The app is free on iOS and Android.

Demo video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/K-fTxwDYRy8

App Store (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fadeout-plan-share-fade/id6759956264

Google Play (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.fadeout

Would love honest feedback from this community. What would make you download it? And if anyone has experience growing a consumer social app outside their initial network I'd genuinely love to hear what worked.