Every hype on the internet is always accompanied by a counter-hype, and Vero is no exception: Negative reports have been shared via other social media platforms under the hashtag #deletevero. This is because the company behind Vero has a dubious reputation. In addition, the sudden rise of the network in February 2018 also resulted in some conspiracy theories: Many influencers are said to have been paid by Vero to hype up the app. After all, Vero has been around since August 2015, so why did it suddenly become so popular three years later? Many believe it’s because it was produced artificially and had a lot of money pumped into it.
Another point of criticism: Vero only works if the user enters their phone number. The app then sends a four-digit code to the user in order to activate the account. Referring to the competitor, WhatsApp, Vero argues that they have this step to block out bots and keep the network free of advertising programs. In theory, however, stopping bots could also be done by other means, without asking for the user’s phone number. Those wanting to register must therefore provide confidential information in order to use Vero. The fact that Vero’s servers are located in England, and should therefore not be subject to EU data protection guidelines once Brexit has been implemented, doesn’t exactly help strengthen confidence in Vero’s data protection.
After the sudden increase of users, Vero has also had to contend with various server failures and performance problems. As a result, many users were temporarily unable to create an account. In our test, the code caused problems because the app rejected it. It only worked on the third attempt with the call-me function. Vero doesn’t seem to have got this problem under control yet.
In our test, the Vero app also proved to be a battery-drainer. Ten minutes of testing resulted in an energy loss of about 8%. This is a clear indication that the app is consuming an enormous amount of resources. Mobile data volume is also likely to suffer from using Vero. The app relies on the user sharing media, so if these are uploaded using mobile data and not while connected to WiFi, this will use a lot of data volume. Users with small data packets and/or weak smartphones won’t be that impressed with Vero, since it’s only really optimized for modern devices and powerful networks.
From a functional point of view, there is a surprisingly little to criticize about Vero. What is noticeable, however, is the absence of emojis. For some users, this could be advantageous if they want to escape the annoying sea of yellow faces. But the popular yellow emojis don’t fit the rather somber style of the app anyway. These missing emojis are more a question of taste rather than a criticism. When it comes to categorization, however, important categories such as video games and comics are also missing. Also, the fact that you can’t post without attaching some kind of media could be a downside for some users.
Much of the criticism is directly related at Vero’s founder, Ayman Hariri. The controversies surrounding his person have led to moral concerns among many critics as to whether his app should be used at all.