Anonymous social networking app launches in Ireland

28 Apr 2014

The anonymous social networking app Secret has gained a lot of attention in recent months and is now receiving its first release outside of the US in Ireland, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Having recently attained US$10m in funding to promote and develop its app, the team behind Secret have released it to a select few international markets to ‘test the waters’ before a general worldwide release.

What differs it from most social media apps is that instead of your messages being posted from a profile that includes your personal details and images, Secret anonymously broadcasts a person’s thoughts to their friends list with the idea that its creators feel most people are afraid to say their inner-most thoughts for fear of ridicule or questioning.

The app was first made public in December 2013 and has been making significant progress since then having added a number of additional features including the app’s ability to detect and alert when someone is making defamatory comments – which is understandably frowned upon – and transfer the app’s posts onto traditional social networks.

Speaking to TechCrunch, the app’s co-founder, Chrys Bader-Wechseler, says that initial uptake of the app in the US has been considerably impressive: ““We see about 75pc of people who have friends on the network will come back every week.

“If they participate in a conversation, 90pc will come back.” Those who are returning do so a lot, opening the app between eight and ten times each day. “You see people on the app all day basically, an interesting and a good sign.”

The app is currently only available in iOS, but the timing of its launch in Ireland and elsewhere is expected to tie in with its impending launch on Android also.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com