While social media has become a platform for individuals to have their own public personas, there are also different online platforms these days that allow users to share and post without revealing their true selves. Different “anonymous apps” such as Whisper, Yik Yak and Secret allow users to remain nameless while posting some of their thoughts (deep, dark, and otherwise), secrets, ideas or revelations that they’d rather not be traced back to them. Here’s a quick review of the different features these three apps possess.
This app allows users to post and send messages for free, and allows users to see posts by people nearest them or from their schools. “Whispers” are categorized under Popular, Nearby and Latest.
Whisper utilizes image-rich content. Once you decide on something you would like to share, Whisper will then add an appropriate image to go with your “whisper.” The app also has a feature where other users can reply and privately message you and see your location.
To download the app, users must be at least 17 years old. It is available for iOS and Android devices.
This app is simple. You get a live feed of what everyone’s saying around you. The app is described in iTunes as: “a bulletin board for your area by showing the most recent posts from other users around you. It allows anyone to connect and share information with others without having to know them.”
You can “upvote” yaks that you like and “downvote” yaks you don’t. The app also allows you to see what’s happening in other places, communities and schools. By posting Yaks that gets the most upvotes, you get Yakarma points.
To start using the app, users simply have to download the app and enter their cellphone number to start sharing. You can get the app on iTunes and in Google Play.
Secret
Like Whisper and Yik Yak, Secret serves as an online sounding board for anything you’d like to reveal. The app allows you to make new friends and explore what people nearby are saying. There are different topics and locations you can choose from, and you can also chat privately with other users. You can increase your “love” by giving and receiving hearts to fellow users as well.
To get started, the app will be asking for your email and phone number and will ask you to connect your account to Facebook.
You can download the app for Android devices and iOS devices.
Anonymous Apps and Bullying
Due to the anonymous nature of these apps, users tend to feel safer hiding behind their accounts, which leads to behavior and actions that are not afraid of consequences. For example, users have been reported to feel more comfortable using vulgar and obscene language.
There have been reported cases of public shaming through the use of these apps as well, which is why an increasing number of high schools and college campuses in the United States have taken steps to ban them. In fact, Yik Yak, which has been extremely popular in schools, has been banned due to concerns that it promotes hate speech. However, some schools are fighting back by spreading general positive messages.
I’ve seen some of the comments on Yik Yak and they are plain awful. David is completely right to warn us about this, I would suggest only those with a thick skin use this app!
Most of them are bad and quite awful, as you’ve said, but there is a time when you tumble upon of what I call a “gold comment”. There are these witty comments to yaks that made me laugh uncontrollably! Have you seen one of those yet?
To be fair, there are witty comments on EVERY site, and you can get a whole collection of them at once on places like 9gag and reddit. You don’t NEED to go through all the crap on yik yak to find them.
You don’t need, that’s true. There are dedicated pages/communities that posts these on their Facebook page or Twitter. I just follow them and whenever they post I get a giggle out of them. 🙂
You make so much sense. There are loads of dedicated pages I guess and you can get lots of info out of there.
Reddit is always a good source of these “gold comments”, as is The Poke.
Heh was expecting this since nothing good always comes when people are anonymous. I’ll still check them out because anonymity is what let people be completely creative..
These apps are pretty bad, as you’d expect with social media that offers complete anonymity. It’s not just the bullying either, it’s the obviously fake and over-the-top stories on there too. I get that it seems like a good place to confess stuff and tell your secrets, but…I don’t think it’s doing that, at least now well.
Really? I haven’t tried any of those apps just yet, but I was guessing they’d not by used by intended. After all there are so many awfully immature and plain stupid people out there who always have to ruin the fun for everyone. I just hate trolls and those who shame others using this kind of apps or any other platform.
There are just too many social sites out there. Most do the same thing, which makes them feel redundant to use. These new sites for your darkest fears wont last long, as they are just a fad. I’m only joined with 3 social sites, which have 3 different meanings of use, anything else will cause you to get distracted from life and your surroundings.
Interesting, the one that attract me the most of of all 3 was secrets. It sounds like an interesting way to make friends. Not like I’d ever use t tho, but it indeed sounds like a really interesting idea. But I can see how all those apps can be misused by immature hateful people, that is a shame… because that kind of people always ruin everything.
It’s such a shame people use these apps to take their negative emotions out on others. Personally, I’d prefer to use them to work out my own issues. I was a big fan of PostSecret back in the day, and DailyConfession years before that, both of which served to remind me I wasn’t alone in my feelings. Ah well, trolls will be trolls, I suppose. Probably just better off writing secrets down on a piece of paper and then burning or ripping up the paper, old-school style.
Lol, that’s what we used to do as kids too! we thought that it you wrote it down, then burnt it, you’d never get found out! How stupid were we!
I know right!
It’s still not untrue, there’s just probably better ways to do it now.
I don’t like social media so I’ve stayed out of it thus far. These apps just make it easier to be unaccountable for what you have to say, which even Facebook doesn’t really do. I’m not a fan, safe to say. I’m barely tolerating cell phones as it is, the last thing I need to do is interface with the world at large.
Wow very interesting indeed, that’s really cool though haha. Very informative and a bit funny too.
I would seriously doubt the notion of “anonymity”, personally I think that it would definitely be possible to track down the person who posted their confession, if it were a serious enough breach of the law..
No thank you! I’ll keep all my skeletons locked in the closet where they belong. I don’t mean a digital one either. I don’t have any skeletons actually, but if it is secret I probably want to keep it that way. I’m not going to post it anonymous or otherwise. That is just my preference though. I guess I can see how other people might find some release in it.
I think that the idea is good but like with all things it is easy to get abused. Although if you have to add your phone number somebody can trace it and someone knows it even if you are hidden. I have seen so many of these post shared on other websites like tumblr which is kind of defeating the purpose of being anonymous . I do not think something that is supposed to be private should be able to be shared by others even if they do not know who the person is that posted it.
These apps are good but they are many cowards who misuse them. The true purpose of anonymity is being able to share your thoughts without anyone who you are. It can be therapeutic if you’ve got secrets that you’ve got to tell someone but can’t trust anyone with them. As these apps can be used for bullying and other things it’s better not to use them if you know you could be a target.