• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that

2

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

1

Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that

2

Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Tech

What You Need to Know About ‘tbh,’ Facebook’s New Anonymous Messaging App

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 17, 2017, 12:59 PM ET

On Monday, Facebook said it bought ‘tbh,’ a free anonymous messaging app especially popular with teenagers.

The social networking giant did not disclose how much it is paying to acquire the app, but the deal shows that Facebook is ready to jump on an anonymous messaging trend that’s already been around for the past couple of years, as evidenced by a string of flash-in-the-pan apps like Yik Yak, Secret, and After School. Much like its predecessors, tbh seemingly came out of nowhere to gain rapid popularity, reaching the top of Apple’s app store rankings for free downloads in recent weeks despite only launching in August.

According to the app’s description in the Apple app store, 5 million people have already downloaded tbh in just the past few months, and the app reportedly has 2.5 million daily active users.

So far, tbh’s rise has somewhat mirrored that of Sarahah, another anonymous messaging app that was all the rage with teens over the summer. Both Sarahah and tbh are social apps that allow users to send anonymous messages. (Though Sarahah was actually developed as a tool for employees to give honest, anonymous feedback to their employers.)

For Facebook, tbh offers another way to attract more young users, especially as the social network’s own demographic for its namesake service continues to skew older. In the past, Facebook has acquired services like Instagram to cater more to younger users, while the company also regularly copies the features of rival social apps that are popular with young users, especially Snapchat.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

What is the TBH app?

First of all, what does tbh mean? The app’s name comes from the internet shorthand for the phrase “to be honest,” which is fitting considering that the app from parent company Midnight Labs is intended to be a place where users can offer anonymous feedback to people they know online.

Unlike other anonymous messaging apps, though, tbh doesn’t actually allow users to communicate with each other directly. Instead of sending anonymous messages to other users, people on tbh participate in online polls where they anonymously rate their friends in complimentary categories like “Who has the best smile?” or “Makes you laugh the hardest.” The process is completely anonymous, but users receive notifications (and virtual “gems”) when they are selected in a poll, and the sender of a particular poll can also reveal their true identity if they so choose.

A screenshot from the new anonymous social app tbh.

The app is currently only available in 34 U.S. states, which makes its rising popularity that much more impressive. And, tbh is clearly aimed at the teenaged demographic, as the app (which is recommended for users aged 12 and up) asks new users when they sign up to either identify what grade they are in, from high school to college, or to select the option “not in high school.”

Is TBH safe?

The app bills itself as “the only anonymous app with positive vibes,” which is an important distinction considering the typical criticism heaped upon previous popular anonymous messaging apps. It didn’t take long for critics to turn on Sarahah as a potential hotbed for cyberbullying and other online abuse, reflecting similar criticism of previous anonymous messaging apps. Critics have specifically pointed out that Sarahah and other similar apps offer a consequence-free environment where users can send anonymous messages that could be perfectly innocuous, or incredibly hurtful.

The tbh app seems to have been built as a potential answer to the criticism of its predecessors. It doesn’t appear that tbh users have much of an opportunity to slander their peers, as the app’s creators have said that poll submissions to tbh are closely moderated for anything resembling harassment, and only a small percentage of the thousands of daily submissions actually go on to become tbh polls.

Connecting TBH app to Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook

As with previous anonymous apps, tbh users have taken to moving their activity off the app and onto secondary, non-anonymous social apps, like Snapchat or Instagram. As Fortune reported over the summer, Sarahah users took advantage of Snapchat’s linking feature to add links to their Sarahah profiles to the snaps they send to followers. New York magazine noted in September that tbh users also regularly share polling results, including screenshots of the tbh compliments they receive, on secondary apps like Snapchat and Instagram.

On Monday, a Facebook spokesperson told Fortune that the company plans to allow tbh to continue operating as its own standalone app.

Is TBH on Android and iPhone?

As of now, tbh is still only available to download on Apple iOS devices, and not on Google’s Android operating system. The company behind the app has not indicated when tbh might be available to Android users, though the acquisition by Facebook suggests that wider availability is likely to come soon.

About the Author
By Tom Huddleston Jr.
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the ‘deepest moat that exists today’ as investors vow to ‘never bet against Elon’
InnovationIPOs
SpaceX heads into a record-shattering IPO with the ‘deepest moat that exists today’ as investors vow to ‘never bet against Elon’
By Jason MaMay 16, 2026
3 hours ago
tarot
AICulture
We talked to 12 tarot card readers who are using AI. They split in 2 camps, with big implications for the technology
By Ziv Epstein, Farnaz Jahanbakhsh, Vana Goblot and The ConversationMay 16, 2026
5 hours ago
liberman
Commentarystart-ups
We watched social media concentrate. The same thing is happening in AI, only at a deeper layer
By David Liberman and Daniil LibermanMay 16, 2026
6 hours ago
mustafa suleyman
AIMicrosoft
Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
7 hours ago
olivier
CommentaryAnthropic
I’ve been studying Big Tech for a long time. What just happened with Anthropic and the Pentagon terrifies me
By Olivier SylvainMay 16, 2026
8 hours ago
bhaskar
Economydisruption
The prophet of the ‘Wired Belt’ says capitalism is finally eating itself
By Bhaskar ChakravortiMay 16, 2026
9 hours ago

Most Popular

Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that
Success
Despite having a $165 million net worth, Scarlett Johansson says work-life balance doesn’t exist—and the first step to success is admitting that
By Preston ForeMay 13, 2026
3 days ago
Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
AI
Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
7 hours ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
4 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 15, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 15, 2026
1 day ago
Meet the 20-year-old CEO who launched a company in high school to solve Gen Z's entry-level job crisis
Future of Work
Meet the 20-year-old CEO who launched a company in high school to solve Gen Z's entry-level job crisis
By Jake AngeloMay 16, 2026
11 hours ago
‘You’re not a hero, you’re a liability’: Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary warns Gen Z founders to stop glorifying hustle culture
Future of Work
‘You’re not a hero, you’re a liability’: Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary warns Gen Z founders to stop glorifying hustle culture
By Jacqueline MunisMay 16, 2026
7 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.