Facebook is developing an app that would allow users to send messages anonymously. The stand-alone anonymous messaging platform would allow users to interact without revealing their real names.
A source says the point of the app would be to give people the opportunity to share thoughts that they may feel uncomfortable sharing with their real names. It would be similar to programs like Secret or Whisper, where people can post confessions and other private thoughts.
Traditionally, Facebook requires users to use their real names. This policy actually caused some controversy among its transgender users who found themselves locked out of Facebook as a result. In an apology to transgender members, Facebook chief product manager Chris Cox noted, “It’s part of what made Facebook special in the first place, by differentiating the service from the rest of the internet where pseudonymity, anonymity, or often random names were the social norm.”
Reportedly, this new venture is being led by Josh Miller, who co-founded the link-sharing app Branch, which was recently acquired by Facebook. The New York Times says the app should be released “in the coming weeks.”