{"id":9623,"date":"2017-10-16T20:51:25","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T20:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/facebook-acquires-anonymous-teen-compliment-app-tbh-will-let-it-run.html"},"modified":"2017-10-16T20:51:25","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T20:51:25","slug":"facebook-acquires-anonymous-teen-compliment-app-tbh-will-let-it-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/facebook-acquires-anonymous-teen-compliment-app-tbh-will-let-it-run.html","title":{"rendered":"Facebook acquires anonymous teen compliment app tbh, will let it run"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

Facebook wants tbh to be its next Instagram. Today, Facebook announced<\/a> it\u2019s acquiring positivity-focused polling startup tbh<\/a> and will allow it to operate somewhat independently with it\u2019s own brand.<\/p>\n

tbh<\/a> had scored 5 million downloads and 4 million daily active users<\/a> in the past 9 weeks with its app that\u00a0lets people anonymously answer kind-hearted multiple-choice questions about friends who then receive the poll results as compliments. You see questions like\u00a0\u201cBest to bring to a party?\u201d, \u201cTheir perseverance is admirable?\u201d, and \u201cCould see becoming a poet?\u201d, with your uploaded contacts on the app as answer choices.<\/p>\n

The app has racked up over 1 billion poll answers since officially launching in limited states in August, mostly from teens and high school students, and spent weeks topping the free app charts. When we profiled tbh last month in the company\u2019s first big interview<\/a>, co-creator Nikita Bier told us \u201cIf we\u2019re improving the mental health of millions of teens, that\u2019s a success to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Financial terms of the deal weren\u2019t disclosed but TechCrunch has heard the price paid was under $100 million and won\u2019t require any regulatory approval. tbh\u2019s four co-creators Bier, Erik Hazzard, Kyle Zaragoza, and Nicolas Ducdodon\u00a0will join Facebook\u2019s Menlo Park headquarters while continuing to grow their app with Facebook\u2019s cash, engineering, anti-spam, moderation, and localization resources.<\/p>\n

However, the tbh founders will become formal Facebook employees with Facebook email addresses opposed to running more independently like Instagram and WhatsApp that have their own buildings and emails.<\/p>\n

The tbh team wrote<\/a> in an announcement post that \u201cWhen we met with Facebook, we realized that we shared many of the same core values about connecting people through positive interactions. Most of all, we were compelled by the ways they could help us realize our vision and bring it to more people.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement to TechCrunch, Facebook wrote \u201ctbh and Facebook share a common goal \u2013 of building community and enabling people to share in ways that bring us closer together. We\u2019re impressed by the way tbh is doing this by using polling and messaging, and with Facebook\u2019s resources tbh can continue to expand and build positive experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

From 14 Failures To Facebook<\/h2>\n

Bier originally started tbh parent company Midnight Labs back in 2010. The app studio took a small seed round in 2013<\/a> from investors including Greylock via partner Josh Elman, Bee Partners, and Indicator Ventures. The company tried a slew of products including a personal finance app, a college chat app, and a personality test. But nothing took off and Midnight Labs was running out of money.<\/p>\n

The company decided to build something at the intersection of the positivity it saw lacking in anonymous apps like Secret and Yik Yak, and the honesty teens craved as seen in the TBH trend where social network users request candid feedback from their friends. tbh was born. \u201cWe shipped it to one school in Georgia. Forty percent of the school downloaded it the first day\u201d said Bier.<\/p>\n

The biggest problem quickly became how to keep users engaged with the app. tbh already limits you to\u00a0answering a few questions at a time so you beg for more. Its first big feature release came this week with the addition of direct messaging. This lets you message someone who chose you as an answer, and they have the option of revealing their identity to you.<\/p>\n

\n

? Introducing DMs on tbh. Slide on in. pic.twitter.com\/ZLBNzbcUW3<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 tbh app (@thetbhapp) October 10, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

But trying to simultaneously keep the servers online, write new questions, and build the next sticky feature was a tall task for such a small team.<\/p>\n

Now tbh will have Facebook to help it scale while it keeping existing users entertained. The app will remain free to download on iOS and Android, and the brand will remain the same. But there\u2019s a lot of advantages to joining up with Facebook:<\/p>\n