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Developers seem to think that people would prefer a confidential outlet to express their true feelings instead of a simple text message or saying something in person.
Rumr is the latest app to join the field. The iOS and Android app uses contacts from your phone book or social media profiles to create group messages with people you know.
However, people can create usernames to disguise their identities so you never know who you are actually messaging.
The creators of Rumr wrote on Medium that they wanted to add context to anonymity:
The general use of anonymity typically has been one-way to an audience that we have no connection with, other than we are both users of the service. This solution tends to not be a driver of real or meaningful emotions and typically turns into places to vent or share confessions. There is power in anonymity to solve real problems, however, the right tool never existed.
Essentially, the creators want to create a safe environment where these anonymous conversations can be productive.
Apps like Secret are filled with posts about money and relationships that are very far from the emotional conversations that the Rumr founders want.
But the anonymity that these apps are based on can make it difficult for these conversations to be productive at all. Even with Rumr, friends or friends of friends can pick random usernames to hide their identities. So someone can still say something rude about you anonymously, but it's now probably worse because it's someone you actually know.
But Rumr's founders think the opposite will happen. "By introducing the constraint of keeping these chats between your friends, the environment becomes inherently safer," they write.
It's practically impossible for a developer to make a perfect anonymous messaging app. Once someone's identity is taken away, people feel free to say whatever they want. People can post multiple horrible things about someone without the fear of repercussions.
With the field of anonymous messaging app growing incredibly crowded, developers are going to have a tougher time trying to stand out.