Sarahah : New Service Development

Introduction ************************************************************************************************ It is the most popular free download from the U.S. iOS App Store, and the second most popular free app on Google Play, according to App Annie It is social network that lets users receive anonymous messages. “Sarahah” is the Arabic word for candor or openness. Sarahah means ‘honesty’ or ‘frankness’ in Arabic, and Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq, the Saudi programmer who created it, reportedly intended it to be used by businesses to get candid feedback on their services or friends sending notes and confessions to each other. Sarahaha was created by Saudi developer Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq with the idea of encouraging constructive criticism. But it’s not for the weak-hearted. You have to be 17 to download the app on iTunes, and you can report or block users. Sarahah is let people send you messages without consequences. you create a Sarahah profile, which anyone can visit. Even without logging in, people can visit your profile and leave messages, anonymously. If they have logged in, messages are still anonymous by default, but users can choose to tag their identity. On the receivers app, all the incoming messages show up in an inbox, and you can flag messages, delete them, reply, or favourite them to find them easily later. from a functional perspective its design easily serves its purpose. Sarahah is available free on Android and iOS. Since the June 13 debut of Sarahah’s English app, its explosive growth has apparently been driven by teenagers It’s being downloaded more than WhatsApp and Instagram it has (at the time of writing) 10,305 5-star reviews on Google Play, it's also got 9,652 1-star reviews, showing a near 50-50 split in opinion. In September 2011 Post Secret, launched an app that, like the blog, would allow users to anonymously confess their secrets in the digital realm. Unfortunately some users started posting abusive messages, threats, and even pornography to the app. Within three months, after the creators had been contacted by Apple and the FBI, the app was shut down. We say new(ish) because the app has been very popular in the Middle East and North Africa since its launch in February, but has recently seen a surge of users from Europe and America. In fact, at the time of writing Sarahah is the most popular free app on the iPhone app store. ********************************************************************************* IT IS NOT THE FIRST APP:- *************************************************************************** Sarahah isn't the first anonymous messaging app we've seen that blew up in popularity though. Yik Yak, Secret, and Whisper are some of the popular apps in recent times to try and fill this function. For the most part, those apps have been more social, making the interactions more public. Sarahah's focus is more on messaging and less on social media *************************************************************************** Disadvantages:- *************************************************************************** the anonymous nature of the app has inevitably led to people sending abusive messages and bullying people on the platform. People do get recist comments. Its not surprising that a platform that offers anonymity has become popular with the LGBT community Sarahah’s potential for cyberbulling is obvious. Despite its optimistic premise, users already report that the app has become a breeding ground for cyberbullying and hate speech. more girls are getting kinda bullied because guys are commenting sexual stuff. *************************************************************************** Future:- *************************************************************************** developers are also looking at ways to improve the experience. Privacy features mean that you can remove your profile from search results, limiting your audience to people who you share your profile with, and you can also turn off access for unauthorised users - that is, only people who are logged in will be able to comment. You can also block senders, so even if you can't see the name of the user, they won't be able to send you a message again. Conclusion:- *************************************************************************** Is Sarahah for you? That depends on whether you’d appreciate finding out how your friends, lovers, and acquaintances really view you—and whether you could handle not knowing who offered their opinion. similar apps like Yik Yak and Secret largely failed due to the amount of online abuse on those platforms