Ello is the ad-free social network that attracted a lot of attention last year when thousands of internet users started signing up for their website. It was seen as an alternative to other social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, but there were two main factors which limited their adoption, firstly it was invite-only and secondly they didn’t have a mobile app.

Now, Ello has overcome their limitations and unleashed a mobile app and has also lifted the invitation requirement. The mobile app is initially launched for Apple App store but will be soon launched for Android and Windows devices

Paul Budnitz, CEO of Ello said, “Starting up a social network is kind of like, for us, having a party without anyone in the room. We really wanted to make sure the first people who were in Ello really set the tone in the right way.”

Budnitz said Ello was initially started as a private social network connecting about 100 users; maximum were artists who were bored of the clutter on other networking sites. Now, the ad-free social network has millions of users, according to Budnitz.

Ello mobile app is basically a well-designed ad-free social network app and has similar black-and-white themes as in their website. The Ello app features five tabs at the bottom, which are: Discover, Notifications, Two news feeds (Friends and Noise), Ello Profile, Post. It also includes an address import feature.

Ello is planning to roll out a social e-commerce function later this year in which sellers can sell items directly to their followers. “Sellers just need to take a photo of the items they want to sell, draw a box around the image and add a price.” Budnitz said. Like other e-commerce websites such as eBay Ello will take a small fee for setting up the transaction.