No 'Secret' Any Longer: Anonymous Sharing App Shuts Down

Secret, the anonymous social sharing app that was the darling of Silicon Valley in 2014, is shutting down. "Unfortunately, Secret does not represent the vision I had when starting the company," wrote co-founder David Byttow in a blog post, "so I believe it’s the right decision for myself, our investors and our team."

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

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The app allowed anyone to post messages and images anonymously, either publicly or limited to people in their friend group who also had the app. Unfortunately, as with other anonymous sharing apps like Whisper and YikYak, a significant portion of posts were "defamatory, offensive, or mean-spirited," as Secret itself described them last year when attempting to quash the trash talk.

"I believe in honest, open communication and creative expression, and anonymity is a great device to achieve it," wrote Byttow. "But it's also the ultimate double-edged sword, which must be wielded with great respect and care."

Secret still has a good deal of money it raised from investors, which will be returned to them. Byttow said he plans to write up what went wrong and how over the next few weeks at the Secret blog.

IN-DEPTH

• Stop the Secret Smack Talk, iOS App Warns Users
• Anonymous App Whisper Denies Guardian Report That It Tracks Users
• Anonymous Message App Secret Comes To Android, Adds New Features

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—Devin Coldewey