Radio Bubble for Mac

Radio Bubble is a free app under a “name your own price” model that allows users to broadcast one message per day to other Radio Bubble users. It has a simple interface that sits on the desktop, featuring a colorful pixel art design that is always on top while the app is running.

Unlike more conventional messaging applications, like Telegram or WeChat, Radio Bubble only permits a user to broadcast one message a day, and there is no control over who sees it. Users are also anonymous.

The premise of the app is very simple. It sits on a computer desktop and shows messages broadcast from other users. It is not entirely clear whether all messages are displayed or just some, but the messages appear at mostly regular intervals. For the user’s part, they can broadcast a message to other users once a day, but no more. They can also name their “radio station”.

The app does not need installing and can be run directly from an executable once extracted. There is no way to filter or censor the incoming messages, putting the user at risk of seeing messages that are perhaps not safe for work or family viewing. Users are assigned a “station” in the form of an MHz band, much like traditional FM radio, which shows up along with the station’s name when their message is displayed to other users.

While Radio Bubble can be a way to add a little escapism to an otherwise mundane computer desktop, the swirling colors and regular messages can be somewhat distracting. This coupled with the fact that the app’s always-on-top feature cannot be disabled means that the only way to tone the app down is by closing it completely.