Top 10 Interesting Facts About Sarahah : The Anonymous Messaging App
"Are you ready for honesty? Get constructive criticism from friends and colleagues, in total anonymity."
This is the running theme of the new honesty secret messaging app Sarahah that has garnered immense popularity and triggered a massive debate about online bullying alongside. Sarahah stands for “honesty” in Arabic and permits users to send and receive messages in complete anonymity from people in the social network.
While the app is new to India, Sarahah was quite popular, so much so, that it on top of Apple App Store in over 30 countries in July. According to a BBC report, this has over 300 million users already.
1. The Brainchild
The app was developed by a Saudi designer Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq and launched the website six months ago. His venture of releasing it as an app has gained a huge success. This site has gathered 270 million views and 20 million users in a span of a few weeks. Alexa says this site is one of the top messaging app sites in Egypt where it originated. This app has 2.5 million users rom Egypt alone, as per stats shared by news channel Al Jazeera. The app is gaining popularity in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Kuwait too.
2. Honesty App
Sarahah allows you to create an account for yourself and share the link with people from whom you would like to receive texts. You can also find people using the app’s search facility. The link allows people to leave anonymous messages. You cannot follow any user using this app.
3. How it works
Sarahah allows you to create an account for yourself and share the link with people from whom you would like to receive texts. You can also find people using the app’s search facility. The link allows people to leave anonymous messages. You cannot follow any user using this app.
Who can write to your Sarahah account? : The crucial aspect of Sarahah is to enable users to leave “constructive feedback” for others. On the app, you can look for people by simply searching. If a user wants to read comments from a person, the option is set by default within the app. However, this option is limited to just the people who have a Sarahah account. Also, you can also remove your name from the search option and instead copy and share your Sarahah account link with your friends from whom you want to get anonymous messages.
4. Overseas followers
The website is very light and the app is now available for both Android and iOS platforms. Though it was initially launched in the Middle East, the app is gaining popularity and has recorded high download in the recent months. This app is even gaining credence among Snapchat users. With 300 million users already, this viral messaging app is in English and Arabic for Android and iOS users.
5. Healthy texts
The website simply reads, “Get honest feedback from your coworkers and friends”. It clearly highlights that the app is to mainly share constructive feedback without disclosing the user information. Few people have also claimed that this has helped their work lives and helped them to gain confidence.
6. Platform for cyber bullying
The app is gaining a large number of users worldwide. On the other side, the app is claimed to be a new platform and medium for cyber bullying. Many concerns have been raised regarding the offensive and threatening messages received anonymously. This is the major issue also faced by former anonymous messaging apps.
7. Blocking policy
The app is still in a developing phase and is still working on many of its features. It also comes with ample security issues. One cannot block a user directly on Sarahah. However after he receives an offensive message, he can long press and block the particular sender.
8. Privacy policy
Many users seem to have queries regarding their privacy while engaging with the app. Few reports show that the user details will be revealed. But the founder confirms by saying that they follow strict privacy policy and the user information is completely safe when he follows all the rules and regulations of the app without any violations.
9. Why better?
This app is highly compared with other anonymous messaging apps like Whisper, Secret, Ask.fm. Unlike apps like Yik Yak which allows anyone to read the post, Sarahah keeps it specific to a particular group by creating the link. This helps to make the interactions more positive.
10. The future
Lots of anonymous messaging apps lost its popularity in short term and are dead. It could not survive due to its negative remarks and other law suits. It might also be possible for Sarahah to also join this group of dormant apps in near future. But its unique features may help to keep out the negativity.
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