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Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Earlier this week, Secret CEO David Byttow tweeted that he would be shutting down his popular (and controversial) anonymous, secret-sharing social networking app. According to Byttow, the app no longer represents his “vision,” which is fair; his vision probably didn’t involve hacks, government bans and cyberbullying.
But not everyone uses anonymous social networking apps to bully others — sometimes we just need to (anonymously) vent. Now that Secret’s closing, here are four other anonymous social networking apps to turn to when you need to rant about your boss without getting fired:
Whisper
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Whisper (Android, iOS) recently passed 10 million monthly active users, a stat announced the same day Secret’s shutdown notice was posted (oh, snap). The secret-sharing social network is aimed at the younger crowd, and lets you upload your anonymous confessions in meme-like block letters over stock photography. Whisper has put some anti-bullying measures in place: posts with names are banned and the company has set up a nonprofit called Your Voice, which provides resources for people dealing with anxiety, stress, bullying and sexuality, among other things.
Yik Yak
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET
Yik Yak (Android, iOS) is a location-based anonymous social network – users can comment and vote on other users’ posts, but only within their community. You can “peek” on the activities of other communities, but you can’t interact with them. To prevent bullying, Yik Yak has worked with mapping companies to , effectively banning the app in those places (namely, middle schools and high schools). Yik Yak has been banned in nearly 85 percent of US high schools.
After School
After School
For the high schoolers who can’t access Yik Yak, there’s After School (iOS), a teen-focused anonymous social networking app where kids can post without having to worry about parents or teachers. After School has several anti-bullying measures in place — no post is published before being reviewed by a member of the After School staff. After School uses location data and Facebook verification to ensure that only real members of a school can post in a school’s After School community.
Rumr
Rumr
Unlike the other apps on this list, Rumr (Android, iOS) is only semi-anonymous. This app lets you chat semi-anonymously with a group of friends or contacts. While the chatroom does have a member list, so you can see who’s there, each member is given an anonymous icon and color when they post a message to the board. Users can also change their colors in the middle of the chat, just in case things get a little too real.
