Messaging apps are arguably the most popular type of app out there, and with new software, features, and updates for such apps coming through every day, it would be hard to dispute. According to The Economist, the 10 biggest messaging apps boast over 3 billion user accounts, 700 million of which belong to the leading platform, Whatsapp. Following closely behind are Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and Viber.

After looking at the numbers, it makes sense that a lot of companies would see creating a messaging service to be an easy hit. Surprisingly, there is one company looking to do the opposite. GetReal is a brand new iOS app that wants to help people meet each other face-to-face, rather than sitting behind a screen. There have been other apps that work towards this end, such as Tinder. However, while Tinder is mainly a “dating” app, GetReal seeks to offer meet-ups for more varied reasons.

It may seem counterintuitive at first, having a digital correspondence with the sole aim of fostering a non-digital relationship, but GetReal tries to facilitate this by limiting the amount of interaction two users can have through the app. When you open GetReal, it shows you users in your vicinity by pulling up their photo, a self-descriptive blurb, and any connected social channels. Then you can send a meeting invite with a proposed location and a short message. And that’s it.

The app started as a social experiment, after the lead developer Arnaud Meunier became frustrated with the feeling that social media was eclipsing actual socialization. “I feel we simply do not talk anymore,” he argues. “We text. We email. We post on Facebook. We tweet on Twitter. And I believe it’s destroying our ability to effectively communicate in our work relationships, in our dating life, and in our relationships with our friends. So I started this as a social experiment six months ago: what if we all stopped texting, and had an actual face-to-face conversation once in a while? For work or for fun, I just find it so much more exciting (and effective!) to drop the emoticons, and get to know each other, in person.”

GetReal seems to be the first of its kind, which is exciting in and of itself. Download it here!

For more information, take a look at TechCrunch’s in-depth analysis.