tbh: understanding Facebook’s strategy

You may not have heard of tbh, but don’t worry, it is easy to explain: it’s an app referring to “to be honest”, specifically designed for teenagers in high schools and colleges, currently available only for iPhone and in some US states, encouraging a positive use of anonymity in answering questions and surveys either proposed by the application or users, but always constructive in tone and perhaps a little sugary, with lots of gamification element and plenty of emojis. All very high school and very gossipy, and most importantly, determined to eliminate the harassment and cyberbullying associated with other anonymous apps now disappeared such as Secret or Yik Yak.

Officially launched in August and rolling out slowly, almost state-by-state if not school-by-school, it has already accumulated five million users and become the most downloaded free app in the United States, beating consolidated monsters such as Gmail, Bitmoji, YouTube, Instagram or Snapchat.

And today, tbh has been bought by Facebook. he small company has announced the acquisition on its homepage, saying it will allow it to continue to operate as an independent brand after a relatively small transaction estimated at less than $100 million, and which will not require any legislative approval, but its employees will begin to form part of Facebook and will have fb.com e-mail addresses…