An app that encourages teens to be nice to each other has been acquired by Facebook for an undisclosed fee.
The app – called tbh, meaning “to be honest” – is just nine weeks old, but had already been downloaded 5 million times.
The app’s creators said it will remain a standalone program but will now have more resources thanks to Facebook.
“We were compelled by the ways they could help us realise tbh’s vision and bring it to more people,” tbh said.
According to start-up news site TechCrunch, the deal was for “less than $100m”, and tbh’s four person team would become Facebook employees.
‘Emotional needs’
In a statement, Facebook said: “tbh and Facebook share a common goal of building community and enabling people to share in ways that bring us closer together.
“We’re impressed by the way tbh is doing this by using polling and messaging, and with Facebook’s resources tbh can continue to expand and build positive experiences.”
“While the last decade of the internet has been focused on open communication, the next milestone will be around meeting people’s emotional needs,” it said.
Trading niceties
The firm’s achievement has been to create an anonymous app that hasn’t descended into a cesspit of trolling and harassment – something many apps before it have dramatically failed to do.
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