Setlog goes – South Korean app Setlog has surged in popularity after K-pop stars including Seventeen’s nine active members and aespa’s Karina posted vlogs made with the app. Free to use, it asks friends to record short videos every hour and compiles them into an end-of-day
By 4 a.m., some groups are already awake—at least in the Setlog universe.
The South Korean app. released free for users. has quietly become one of the fastest-moving “friendship apps” in Asia. and then it suddenly went mega-viral after K-pop stars started posting about it. All nine active members of the popular boy band Seventeen and Karina. a member of the girl group aespa. have posted vlogs created with Setlog.
The premise is straightforward, almost built for the kind of daily momentum that turns into trends. Setlog gets a group of friends to commit to taking short videos every hour of the day. At the end of the day. the app compiles those clips into a portrait-orientation video that’s easy to share on social media.
In practical terms, it’s a window into who in a friend group is an early riser and who stays up late. It also shows what friends are up to throughout the day—and it helps when people are separated by time zones.
Seventeen put the app to the test during its 11th debut anniversary celebrations. recording a group log of their day’s activities and dinner together. Members have also used the app in their own settings: Joshua Hong. one of the band’s American members. got on Setlog during a gala event in China. Seungkwan and DK, the group’s main vocalists, recorded behind-the-scenes footage of their concert stop this weekend.
As of press time, Setlog is the third-most-popular app on Apple’s App Store in South Korea. It ranks ahead of Google Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude. Its reach stretches beyond Korea as well, with popularity in other Asian countries including Singapore and Japan. App data tracker Appfigures shows it was downloaded more than 2 million times in May.
The app’s interface leans into cute minimalism: a minimal background. a couple of colorful illustrations. and a Comic Sans-like font. To start, users can create a new group of up to 12 people or join an existing group using a pin. After that, the daily routine begins—users can start vlogging their days at 4 a.m.
Setlog also fits neatly into a broader wave of apps that reduce friction between people and nudge them toward real-world connection. Over the past few years, “friendship apps” have grown, with apps that enable real-world connections and reduce loneliness gaining popularity. Timeleft, 222, Clockout, and Bumble BFF are among the apps in that trend.
The setup will feel familiar to some users because it echoes other “prompt-and-share” formats. Setlog brings to mind BeReal. a photo-sharing app that prompts users to share two pictures—one from the front camera and one from the back—every day. It’s also reminiscent of the Locket widget app. which shows live photos from friends right on users’ phone home screens.
What makes Setlog different is the hourly rhythm and the portrait video that results at the end of the day—turning a scattered stream of moments into a single. scroll-stopping recap. And right now. with K-pop megastars turning those recaps into content. the app’s rise looks less like a slow climb and more like a collective switch has flipped across feeds.
Setlog South Korean app Seventeen Karina aespa app downloads App Store South Korea Gen Z apps friend apps BeReal Locket widget social media trends time zones
So it’s basically Snapchat but every hour?? Weird.
I don’t get why this needs to be a thing. Every hour video sounds exhausting and like it drains your battery lol. Also privacy??
Wait, By 4 a.m. they compile it? Isn’t that like… during the night shift? So are they just forcing people to wake up early to make it work. I saw Seventeen and Karina so I assumed it was like a paid sponsorship or something.
This is proof K-pop can sell anything. Also the “portrait video” part… does it like capture your face even when you’re not doing anything?? I’m not downloading some app where friends are recording hourly, that’s creepy. Next they’ll say it’s a fitness tracker too.