Teens Are Using A 'Yik Yak' App To Slander And Threaten Their Classmates

Students at Marblehead High School in MA are in hot water this week, after anonymous threats appeared on new gossip app. The threats were serious enough to cause the administration to evacuate the school building, according to CNN.

"No profile, no password, it's all anonymous."

That's the tagline of the app - Yik Yak - that's climbing the charts in the App store these days. It's especially popular among teenagers (you have to be 17 or older to download it, the site says).

Sources say high school students are using the app to anonymously post hurtful and inappropriate comments about their classmates.

The Chicago Tribune reports that at least two Chicago-area high schools sent home letters to parents Wednesday about "Yik Yak" and last month, a teenager in Mobile, Alabama was arrested after making shooting threats on the app.

Here's what the app looks like.

The feed resembles a Twitter feed, though no usernames or identification details are associated with what's being posted.

Before you download the app, a push notification appears asking you to confirm you're older than 17, but all you have to do is press the "confirm" button; there's no way to prove your age.

The messages you see on your feed once you download the app represent "nearby Yaks."

Chicago's New Trier Township High School district principals Denise Hibbard and Paul Waechtler were the administrators who sent letters home to parents this week, reports The Tribune.

"While we know we cannot eliminate all of these apps and social networks that offer anonymity to our students, we can work together to help them understand how the digital footprint they leave now may affect them and others for years to come," read the letter.

Administrators at both Marblehead High School and New Trier Township High School were unavailable for comment.