If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED
Anonymity is a valuable currency on today's internet. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter are designed to turn your everyday existence into a very public thing, but sometimes, you need a place to air your more private thoughts without the fear of your words coming back to haunt you.
That’s the allure of anonymous social networks like Secret, which saw a kind of success when it launched back in February, even breaking a few stories about companies in Silicon Valley. But in the days since, the app’s traction seems to have slowed, prompting the startup to revamp its much-discussed app.
Secret 2.0, available on iOS and Android, has added several tools to facilitate more frequent anonymous connections among its users. "We just believe that ideas should be discussed openly---and social networks today make that really hard," Secret co-founder Chrys Bader told The Verge. "We believe that no one should ever have to feel alone---and should be able to put themselves out there, even if they feel like they’re not in the majority."
First, the app ditches its old design of each text-based secret framed in a square photo in favor of a simple feed more akin to Twitter. For each post, public comments are still enabled, but the app now puts more of an emphasis on one-on-one messaging, letting users connect on anything they may want to discuss further with more privacy. And, taking a page from ephemeral service Snapchat, after a day of inactivity, these chats vanish.
Instead of the old “friend” and “explore” feeds, the app shows you two new categories: secrets from friends, and secrets from your city or school. It’s a small change, but it could be a significant one, as it appears to take its cue from another social behemoth that leveraged the college network to build its user base: Facebook.
Secret’s refresh is yet another attempt to claim some added ground in the ongoing battle over anonymity on the internet. There's no shortage of efforts in the space, with older players like Whisper and YikYak well-established at this point, and bigger social networks like Facebook, with its recently released Facebook Rooms, jumping into the fray. Now, Secret is fusing three of this year’s biggest trends in mobile with its revamped app: messaging, anonymity, and ephemerality.
