Sarahahah, find out what your friends really think about you

Sarahah, which is climbing the charts of the most popular apps, allows you to send incognito messages to your contacts. Available on Android and iOS

A few days after its launch it became one of the most downloaded apps, so much so that in some countries it ranked among the most popular apps. It was founded by a Saudi Arabian programmer and it could soon become a cult in Italy: we're talking about Sarahah, the anonymous messaging app.

Let's try to go in order. Let's start by saying that the idea that drove Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq, the Arab developer, was to build a tool that would allow employees to express opinions about their employers anonymously. The programmer thus first created a website, and then, after a series of experiments, transformed the service into an application for Android and iOS. The software allows, in fact, to send incognito messages to contacts. The application is making inroads especially among younger people, and this partly explains the rapid success achieved.

How it works

The peculiarity of Sarahah is that it allows you to pass judgment on someone in a secret way. This allows people to be more transparent. In fact, the meaning of Sarahah in Arabic is honesty, candor, straightforwardness. But how does it work? Simple. The application gives the possibility to locate a contact, among those enrolled in the platform, and send him a message.

The receiver cannot, however, respond to the text sent. Users can apply filters and there are several features available.

The success behind this app, which is growing not only in Arab countries but also in the West, is the ability to be free to say what you think. Although the intent of the app is noble, Sarahah, however, raises some doubts. The app, as seen, allows the sender to be blunt and the receiver to get an idea of what people really think of him. At the same time, there is a risk, as often happens on the internet, that many people will exploit anonymity to make gratuitous and offensive accusations. Sarahah could turn into the paradise of cyberbullies and trolls, who find less and less space on social platforms and instant messaging applications.