Facebook is planning to release a new app in the coming weeks. The name of the new app is unknown at this time, but the app will be an anonymous app in the style of Secret or Whisper. While this app could help Facebook retain its market share, some question whether privacy concerns will make this app DOA. Check out the video above to get more details on this upcoming app.
Business Insider notes that Facebook’s anonymous app project is being spearheaded by Josh Miller. Earlier this year, Miller’s startup Branch was acquired by Facebook for approximately $15 million. This app is shrouded in mystery. The New York Times spoke with Facebook team members who worked on the app, but they had little detail to share. The Times notes:
“There are many unknowns as to how the new app will interact, if at all, with Facebook’s main site. It is unclear if the app will allow anonymous photo sharing, or how friend interactions and existing friend connections will work.”
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Facebook’s planned launch for the new, anonymous app comes at an interesting time for the tech company. Earlier this month, many LGBT Facebook users left the social networking site in favor of Ello, a new social network. The change in social networks was due to Facebook’s “real name” policy, which many people found offensive. Many drag performers, victims or abuse, and transgender people felt that the “real name” policy was limiting their ability to express their identity.
Facebook has to contend with both new social networks, as well as existing social apps. It will be interesting to see if Facebook’s anonymous app has widespread appeal at launch, or if it gets the lukewarm reception that past Facebook apps like Slingshot or Paper have received. Valley Wag, for one, doesn’t seem to have high expectations for Facebook’s next app. They write:
“In September, Facebook spent most of the month forcing transgender people, immigrants, performers, and victims of abuse to use their “legal name” on the site. The company later apologized for the controversial policy, realizing many people have legitimate reasons to use pseudonyms and preferred names online.
It seems Facebook created the new app to fight competitors like Secret and Whisper, not to assuage upset users. But the last time they tried to release a clone of a rival, it was an anxious mess.”