Less availability = more virality ⏳
How "time windows" automatically create viral word of mouth
Wordle grew to 2M daily players by following one simple rule…
You can only play once per day.
⚰️ Viral products are killing “always available”
The old playbook was simple:
“Make your product available 24/7”
But a new wave of products is proving the exact opposite.
The most successful apps right now are the ones you CAN’T use whenever you want:
✍️ Wordle gives you one puzzle per day.
⏰ BeReal lets you post for just 2 minutes each day.
💘 Thursday (the dating app) only works on Thursdays.
And their unavailability is a MASSIVE retention driver and a conversation starter.
💡 The marketing idea
Create artificial “time windows” when your product is available (or extra valuable).
It’s exactly how you can turn your product into an event people wait for. Not by giving the same experience all the time, but by creating conversation starters = special moments worth talking about.
🧠 Why this works
Time windows tap into two powerful psychological triggers:
⌛ Scarcity: When something isn’t always available → we value it more.
🏕️ Shared experiences: When everyone uses your product at the same time → it becomes a social event.
That’s why you hear conversations like: “Did you solve today’s Wordle?” or “BeReal just dropped!”.
🎯 Two ways to do “time windows”
There are 2 ways to play this game — and both work incredibly well: