A popular ‘honesty app’ that lets children post anonymous comments to each other has sparked cyber bullying fears from child protection charities.
The app – called ‘Sarahah’ – meaning ‘honesty’ in Arabic, lets users comment anonymously to their friends on social media.
Although it encourages ‘constructive comments’, reveiews on the App Store suggest it is being misused by cyber bullies.
The app – called ‘Sarahah’ – meaning ‘honesty’ in Arabic lets users comment anonymously to their friends on social media
The app, created by developer ZainAlabdin Tawfiq from Saudi Arabia, has been top of Apple’s App Store for weeks in dozens of countries including the UK after it was first released in June.
Designed to let users send and receive honest feedback it is meant to help people discover their strengths and weaknesses.
‘Sarahah helps you in discovering your strengths and areas for improvement by receiving honest feedback from your employees and your friends in a private manner’, the app description explains.
Once users have downloaded the app, they set up an account to start receiving messages.
The messages appear in a feed where they can be favourited, blocked and deleted without the sender knowing.
Users have no way of knowing who sent the message or how to reply to them.
US-based NGO called Common Sense Media has said Sarahah is not recommended for children and said it is ‘ready-made for cyberbullying’.
‘Sarahah is easy to use, so kids won’t have any trouble figuring out how to operate the app’, a common-sense media contributor wrote in Huffington post.
Designed to let users send and receive honest feedback it is meant to help people discover their strengths and weaknesses
‘But because all comments are anonymous, it’s very easy for people to say mean and hurtful things without any repercussions.
‘Reviews on the App Store indicate that Sarahah is being used as a cyberbullying tool. For these reasons, Sarahah is not appropriate for kids.’
Experts have recommended if children use Sarahah they should not not allow their name or profile picture to appear in search.
They should also only share their profile link with specific people that they know.
‘Users can choose not to have their name or profile picture appear in the app’s search or receive messages from unregistered users, but they must opt out to make this happen.
‘If they don’t, the name and photo they use to register will appear if other users search for them’.
MailOnline has contacted Sarahah for comment.
Earlier this year parents were warned about a ‘suicide game’ that was linked to the death of 130 teenagers in Russia.
The lethal game called Blue Whale involves brainwashing vulnerable teenagers over a period of 50 days, urging them to complete tasks from watching horror movies to waking at strange hours, and self harming.
Experts have recommended if children use Sarahah they should not not allow their name or profile picture to appear in search
The chairty advised that users should only share their profile link with specific people that they know. Users have no way of knowing who sent the message or how to reply to them
The game encourages youngsters to complete a series of challenges over 50 days, ranging from waking up in the night to cutting themselves.
On the final day of the sick challenge, they are then instructed by their ‘masters’ to commit suicide.
In Britain, a school in Essex had made parents aware of the game following talks with police.
The social media ‘game’ is being investigated by police in Russia in relation to dozens of teenage suicides, and now police in Britain are reaching out to schools.