Sarahah app craze continues: 10 things you should know before you start using it

Sarahah app craze continues: 10 things you should know before you start using it

Sarahah has become the talk of the town. Everyone on social media, be it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat, is talking about Sarahah, an app that allow users to send anonymous messages to others registered with the app. The key highlight of Sarahah is that it doesn't reveal the identity of the sender of the message at any given cost. This is where Sarahah stands out from other similar applications available on the Play store.

Sarahah is introduced by a Saudi Arabian developer -- Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq. The interesting bit about the founder of Sarahah -- Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq is that he was once a part of an Indian IT firm - Wipro and gained his programming knowledge from an Indian university, this he revealed himself in an exclusive interview with India Today Group. Sarahah has become popular in absolutely no time. It was rolled out as an app on June 13, and in just a matter of two months, the application gained wide success with over 10 million downloads and Play store and has also become the top trending application on Apple's App store.

The app became popular, rather went viral only for two reasons. One, because it is a very simple to use. All you need to do is sign up for it and then share your ID with friends, or foes for that matter. After that you will get messages, which come up in a simple and easy-to-read chat bubble. Posting messages is simple and the receiving them is simpler. But the big reason why Sarahah app is popular is because it panders to the narcissist within us.

For a generation that has grown up on Facebook and Instagram, the social media platforms which are essentially all about self-obsession, Sarahah is another such outlet that help web users smart under the impression that the world revolves around them. By giving the sender an option to anonymously send a message, Sarahah allows a user to get the direct feedback from the world. It could be great feedback, bad, nice things or nasty messages. But all of them are about the user. Probably that's the reason why most Facebook users are drolling over the app.

While some may already know about this application or how it works, there are still many who are surprised by the craze. And many still have questions like what is Sarahah, how does it work, where to download it from, how to use it and so on and so forth. Well, we explain it all in 10 simple points. Below are all the details you should know before you start using Sarahah.

1. Sarahah is a brainchild of Saudi developer ZainAlabdin Tawfiq. He introduced Sarahah about six months ago as a website. However, he later realised that Sarahah would do wonders as an app. That's when he created the Sarahah app, which is now available for both Android and iOS users. The app hit both Google Play store and App store, and in absolutely no time Sarahah has become one of the top trending apps with over millions of downloads.
2. Sarahah is Arabic term means 'honesty'. The key idea behind designing the app is to allow people send creative messages to each other. But that's not what has been happening, Instead, people are -- also or rather mostly -- using the application as a means of cyber bullying and trolling others while keeping their identity a secret.
3. It is on June 13 that Tawfiq rolled out the app to for both Android and iOS users. In just two months time, the app reached over millions of downloads on both Google Play store and App store and has become the most trending app today. After downloading the app, users will have to have to register to it with their email ID, password and user name.
4. There's no way to directly reply to the received messages via Sarahah. However, Sarahah is reportedly working on the reply option. In the 'About' page of Sarahah website, it is clearly mentioned that the developers are studying the reply option. "You can't respond to messages now. We are studying this option," Sarahah mentions on its website. Further, Sarahah founder also said that the team is working on several other features, which the "users will like". People who know your Sarahah profile link will be able to send anonymous messages. Further, there's also a search bar to find who all are registered with Sarahah.
5. There'll be no name, no information about the sender of the message anywhere. However, because of the anonymity built in the application, some users are misusing it as a cyber bullying platform. ZainAlabdin Tawfiq, the founder of Sarahah in an exclusive with India Today Group said that in some exceptional instances if a user doesn't follow the app guidelines, his/her identity could be revealed. Hence, the application should be used diligently.
6. Sarahah is designed in a way that allows users to send constructive messages. Tawfiq believed that there was a need for constructive feedback in his workplace and that is when he thought of creating something like Sarahah. He thought that keeping this feedback anonymous for the employees a good option. However, like Oscar Wild once said, "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth." This phrase fits perfectly when it comes to Sarahah. Most people are registering with the app to send unsavoury and offensive messages to people instead of "constructive feedback".
7. The application has raised concerns among parents and teachers. A review that was posted on Google Play reads, "My 13-year-old sister uses this and she got a death threat aimed at our 2-year-old brother." After such incidents took place, many parents have reported that the app and said that this is "the newest platform for cyber bullying".
8. Sarahah is still in developing stage and comes with a lot of security concerns. There is no way to directly block a user on Sarahah. However, if a user receives an offensive message on Sarahah, they can simply long press on the message and block it. After which the user will not receive any message from the particular sender.
9. Several people worry about their identity being revealed. There are a few reports circulating on the web that Sarahah details will be revealed. However, commenting on the same, Sarahah founder said that the app comes with "strict privacy policy" and no information will be revealed without the users consent. He further said, "We will never reveal the identity of the sender unless we get his consent to do so. You can see also the terms and conditions of privacy policy regarding disclosure of information about revealing the identity in certain circumstances where there is a violation." But if a user follows the rules and regulations of the app his/her identify and information will be completely safe and will not be revealed.