Facebook has acquired viral anonymous app tbh which has over 5 million users in just a few months after it has failed with it’s apps in attracting teens as SnapChat gains popularity in that age group.
Facebook has acquired viral anonymous app tbh which has over 5 million users in just a few months after it has failed with it’s apps in attracting teens as SnapChat gains popularity in that age group. tbh which stands for the acronym ‘to be honest’ has been acquired by Facebook overnight.
Facebook has a history of aggressively buying marketshare such as it’s successful buy of instagram.
The app launched in September has aleady got 5 million users. It is a network of middle school and high school students that allows users to swap compliments by participating in emoji-filled anonymous “quizzes.”
Facebook confirmed the acquisition saying, “tbh and Facebook share a common goal – of building community and enabling people to share in ways that bring us closer together.”
The app is centered around anonymous quizzes that ask users to pick which friend has “the best smile” or is the “world’s best party planner.” It keeps identities a secret but users can see the gender and grade level of the person who “chooses” them.
tbh viral success
- tbh has been in the App Store’s top ten for weeks,
- Two straight weeks as the number one app
- More than 2 million downloads in its first month in the App Store
- Reached 5 million users who have collectively exchanged more than a billion messages, according to tbh.
This fall’s Piper Jaffray media survey found 47 percent of surveyed teens say Snapchat is their preferred social media, up from 39 percent in the spring. Trends are fical just two years ago in the spring of 2015 Snapchat was their least preferred social media platform. Instagram hasn’t been the most popular platform since 2015, according to the survey data.
While Instagram through copying features has eaten into Snapchat’s users it has seen it’s teenage presence fall away. Facebook has failed with it’s standalone apps built for teens Lifestage and Slingshot (which basically clones SnapChat)
Standalone tbh
What has worked with instagram is keeping it standalone, some of this is perception also, that is many users are unaware they are part of facebook. Facebook plans to keep the app as a standalone service, rather than integrating it into the social network.
“Going forward, your experience with tbh won’t change, but we’ll continue to improve upon it and build features you love —but now with plenty more resources,” tbh said on their blog
That’s not surprising considering Facebook has historically struggled to appeal to younger teens. The company’s own standalone apps built for teens, like Lifestage and Snapchat clone Slingshot, have failed.
Sources: Recode, tbh