Matt Hancock bids 'fond farewell' to his app after five years

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced the closure of his app.

The Matt Hancock MP app debuted in 2018 with a promise to let his West Suffolk constituents follow his latest news and "promote a healthy, open and impartial debate".

In his final post he said it was "time to bid a fond farewell" to what he called an "iconic" app.

But the verdicts of its modest number of users have been more mixed, with some mocking its impact.

Mr Hancock was the first MP to launch an app. The then-culture secretary greeted new users with a video saying: "Hi I'm Matt Hancock and welcome to my app."

According to the Wall Street Journal, some 243,000 people have signed up for it since.

Not all of them were who they appeared to be, though. The app was initially trolled and mocked by users, with some impersonating politicians such as Ed Balls, Donald Trump and Liz Truss.

In his farewell post on the app, Mr Hancock claimed it had secured "multiple exclusives" - such as his backing of Rishi Sunak's leadership campaign.

Mr Hancock said fans concerned about being without his latest updates should "fear not", urging them to follow him on TikTok where he has 156,000 followers.

He signed off with "thanks for the memories and see you all soon" and the hashtag: #allgoodthingsmustcometoanend.

The move to shut down the app after five years comes shortly after Mr Hancock announced he would stand down as West Suffolk MP at the next election, following a backlash to his appearance on ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.

Mr Hancock was suspended from the Conservative party for joining the I'm A Celebrity show and is currently an independent MP.

Mastodon v Matt's app

The Matt Hancock MP app was one of several which enjoyed a recent flurry of activity as users joked about it becoming an alternative to Twitter amid Elon Musk's takeover of the company.

But while decentralised social network Mastodon enjoyed millions of new users, the Matt Hancock app attracted irony-laced reviews on Apple's App Store.

One user described it mockingly as a "truly a life changing experience".

Another wrote wryly: "Delete your phone, get this app instead. You won't regret it."