Around this time last year, cameo scored a significant low point. Its valuation fell by at least 90%, and the company’s disastrous financial situation meant it was unable to pay a $600,000 fine from the FTC.
Now, the company behind celebrity greeting apps is exploring new and new things for growth, although somewhat boring. On Thursday, Cameo announced the launch of Candl, a birthday planning app designed for unforgettable users who want to celebrate their friends’ birthdays without being late for the party.
Free downloadable in the App Store, Candl lets you sync birthdays from saved contacts, create birthday calendars, and view your friends and family’s birthdays while receiving reminders for upcoming celebrations. For astrology fans, you can see who is most compatible with your zodiac sign.
Additionally, the app has a “birthday network” so if another candle user can access the same contact, but they don’t know their birthday, the app will share their birthday information from the contact. (People who do not want to share their birthday information can opt out by visiting Candl.app/optout and sending the phone number they wish to exclude.)
Candl is also planning to add AI-driven features to suggest gift ideas.
This app is very easy and can be useful for many people. After all, everyone is having birthdays and many of us struggle to track them. But it’s a bit strange for this once popular unicorn to choose to create such a simple app and try to regain its fame.
Cameo is known for more ambitious projects, including NFT-based community service and pivots to content creators. However, despite these efforts, the company does not seem to see the outcome it wanted.
Data from App Intelligence Firm Appfigures shows that cameo app downloads have been steadily decreasing since peak times during Pandemic. In 2021, Cameo saw 1.1 million app installations compared to 433,000 in 2022. The first half of this year saw its first increase with 270,000 downloads, up 24% compared to last year’s 217,000.
Furthermore, in the first six months of 2025, the app’s global total consumer spending reached around $1.7 million, down 64% from around $4.7 million in the same period in 2024.
Time reveals whether the candle is successful or not able to gain sufficient traction.
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