By:  Johanna Pellegrino

A cross between social media and a game, the TBH app whose name means “To Be Honest” allows user to anonymously compliment their friends.  Facebook bought the three month old app in October and the app now has over 5 million downloads.  Users also have sent over a billion messages. 

This free app provides a positive description and lets users choose which friend best fits the description. The app appeared almost overnight and its user base is growing exponentially as friends invite friends who in turn invite more friends. 

When it first came out, users were constantly flooded with notifications letting them know what compliments their friends had given them. Many users found the sheer number of notification to be a flaw.  One WHS sophomore Audrey Dider calls the notifications “constant” and goes on to say they were “just too much.”  

Some people even deleted the app because of the flood of notifications. After the first week or so that the app came out, the number of notifications from the app decreased significantly.  However,  recently some users have re-downloaded because the latest update gives users the option to take credit for the compliments they dish out if the recipient sends them a message.

Many people are wary of apps the allow people to comment on each other anonymously, and there is a lot of concern because the target audience for this app is middle and high schoolers.   Yet, the design of the app manages to safeguard against negative commentary. By providing the descriptions for users and letting them chose who the description fits, the app retains some control over what is being said. As of right now, this is the only anonymous commentary app to successfully maintain a positive tone.

The initial excitement over the app has seemed to diminish now that it’s had a week or two of fame, making it somewhat of a “one-hit-wonder” of the app world. 

Sources Used:

http://www.businessinsider.com/tbh-app-how-to-use-photos-2017-9/#the-more-times-someone-picks-you-in-a-poll-the-more-gemstones-you-get-theyll-be-pink-if-a-girl-picks-you-and-blue-if-a-boy-picks-you-tbh-says-the-gems-will-let-you-unlock-more-questions-and-future-features-7

https://www.apple.com/itunes/charts/free-apps/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tbh/id1200014540?mt=8