About the app, not this site
What is the Roost app?
Roost, listed in the stores as Roost Social, is a free slow-messaging app for iPhone and Android. Instead of arriving instantly, your message is carried by a bird across a live map of the world, and it lands when the bird does.
Looking for the app itself?
You won’t find it here. RoostWiki is an unofficial fan site and can’t send anything. These are Roost’s own pages:
How Roost works
Each part of the game, as it works in the app, and where RoostWiki can help you keep track of it.
- On RoostWikiKeep a note of your flights
In the app
Messages that take time
Every message is a flight. You pick a bird, write, and watch it cross a real map to your friend. A short hop can land in minutes; the other side of the world can take days.
- On RoostWikiSee every bird in the Rookery
In the app
1007 birds to collect
Each bird flies at its own speed and comes with field-guide facts. In the app, a bird appears in your codex once it has brought you a message.
- On RoostWikiBrowse the stamp list
In the app
Passport stamps
The first time a bird of yours reaches a country new to it, you earn that country's stamp. There are 249 of them.
- On RoostWikiCompare collections with friends
In the app
Pen pals
Write to people you have never met, matched with others in your age group, without sharing personal details.
- On RoostWikiFind a nest to get into
In the app
Nests
Group chats pinned to a place. A bird sent to one collects the stamp of where it is set, and a nest has room for twenty.
- On RoostWikiSee current and past events
In the app
Events
Every so often Roost sets an event at a place, and a bird that lands there in time earns something extra.
Why everybody is talking about it
Roost grew by word of mouth in 2026 as people tired of instant pings went looking for something slower, and it has been covered by The New York Times, USA Today and TechCrunch, among others. The app’s press page collects the coverage and is the place for anything official.
Roost and RoostWiki, side by side
Two different things that go well together: you play in the app, and keep your notes here.
| Question | This websiteRoostWiki | The appRoost Social |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A fan-made website: a reference to everything in Roost, and a tracker for your collection. | The slow-messaging app itself, where birds carry your messages across a live map. |
| Who makes it | A player of Roost, in their spare time. Not affiliated with the app. | The team behind Roost Social. |
| Where you use it | In any browser, on a phone or a computer. Nothing to install. | On iPhone and Android, from the App Store and Google Play. |
| Sending messages | Not possible. Nothing here can send a bird, a message or a stamp. | That is the whole game: pick a bird, write, and watch it fly. |
| Stamps and birds | All 249 stamps and all 1007 birds on show from the start, collected or not. | A stamp is earned when your bird lands in a new country; a bird appears once it has brought you a message. |
| Your collection | Marked by hand, as your own record. The app never sees it and it never sees the app. | Kept automatically, in your Roost account. |
| Your account | Optional, and separate. Never asks for your Roost login. | Your Roost account, with your pen pals and your birds. |
| Price | Free. Tips on Ko-fi keep it running. | Free, with optional birds to buy and a Roost Supporter subscription. |
- What it is
- RoostWiki: A fan-made website: a reference to everything in Roost, and a tracker for your collection.
- Roost app: The slow-messaging app itself, where birds carry your messages across a live map.
- Who makes it
- RoostWiki: A player of Roost, in their spare time. Not affiliated with the app.
- Roost app: The team behind Roost Social.
- Where you use it
- RoostWiki: In any browser, on a phone or a computer. Nothing to install.
- Roost app: On iPhone and Android, from the App Store and Google Play.
- Sending messages
- RoostWiki: Not possible. Nothing here can send a bird, a message or a stamp.
- Roost app: That is the whole game: pick a bird, write, and watch it fly.
- Stamps and birds
- RoostWiki: All 249 stamps and all 1007 birds on show from the start, collected or not.
- Roost app: A stamp is earned when your bird lands in a new country; a bird appears once it has brought you a message.
- Your collection
- RoostWiki: Marked by hand, as your own record. The app never sees it and it never sees the app.
- Roost app: Kept automatically, in your Roost account.
- Your account
- RoostWiki: Optional, and separate. Never asks for your Roost login.
- Roost app: Your Roost account, with your pen pals and your birds.
- Price
- RoostWiki: Free. Tips on Ko-fi keep it running.
- Roost app: Free, with optional birds to buy and a Roost Supporter subscription.
More quick answers in the FAQ, or read who made RoostWiki and why.