4 Anonymous Social Networking Apps to Check Out

Confess your feelings and thoughts without sharing your identity

by
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Freelance Contributor
Elise Moreau is a writer that has covered social media, texting, messaging, and streaming for Lifewire. Her work has appeared on Techvibes, SlashGear, Lifehack and others.
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Elise Moreau
Updated on February 05, 2020
reviewed by
Jessica Kormos headshot
Jessica Kormos
Lifewire Tech Review Board Member
Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others.
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Article reviewed on Jul 31, 2020
Jessica Kormos

Anonymous social networking apps allow you to interact with others and share your thoughts and feelings without the pressure of having your identity revealed. But what's the appeal?

Why Anonymous Apps Are so Popular

Long ago, back before our identities were so present online via social media, it was a lot easier to remain pretty nameless and faceless on the internet. Today, however, with the range of popular social apps we use to stay in touch with friends and the mobile devices we take everywhere with us, it's pretty safe to say that being undiscoverable online is almost impossible. 

There's a lot of pressure that comes with posting the "right" status update or selfie at just the right time to get the most likes and the most comments these days, and that's partly why several anonymous social apps have started attracting more interest lately. It's almost as if we've come full circle with social media, and we're back at the beginning again, preferring the privacy and peace of mind that we don't have to keep up with our online identities.

Are These Apps 100 Percent Anonymous?

Most anonymous social networking services can't guarantee to keep your activity completely private. They may not be as open as Facebook or Twitter, but most of the content people share on them is traceable or recordable in some way.

If you like the sound of an anonymous app to use just for fun or are looking for apps similar to the now-defunct Yik Yak, here are a few you might want to check out.

What Parents Should Know About These Apps

When people have the option to hide behind a screen and let loose, things can get out of hand. Many apps have dealt with incidents involving child predators, cyberbullying, threats, stalking, and other scary stuff. Use these apps with caution and report anything you think could be considered harmful or abusive.

Parents should always educate themselves and their children on the dangers of online child predators. Actions you can take include using parental control software to monitor your child's activities online and block access to adult websites, and even disabling their webcam.

01
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Whisper: Create Short, Visual Confessions

Two screenshots of the Whisper app for Android.
What We Like

  • A fun way to get stuff off your chest.

  • More than 30 million users.

  • Join groups with like-minded people.

  • No user account needed.

What We Don't Like

  • Lots of ads.

  • Not very user-friendly.

Whisper is kind of like a virtual confessional booth. You choose one of its photos and add text overlay of a confession or comment you want to put out there namelessly. You can even privately message other users you want to connect with, all while keeping your identity (and theirs) secret.

Download For:

02
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Anomo: Reveal Yourself When You're Ready

Two screenshots of the Anomo app for Android.
What We Like

  • Have fun with avatars and games.

  • Full control over what you reveal about yourself.

  • Easy to use and understand.

What We Don't Like

  • Community is largely inactive.

  • Spam bots.

  • Hasn't been updated in a long time.

  • No Android version.

Anomo is a social networking app that starts you off completely anonymous, and then gives you the option to reveal things about yourself to other members gradually. Its location-based functionality lets you chat with people nearby, or you can use the "Mingle" feature to find people based on similar interests you have. You can also chat one-on-one privately, and play fun icebreaker games if you decide you want to tell people more about yourself.

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Psst! Anonymous: Connect With Like-Minded People

Two screenshots of the Psst! Anonymous app for Android.
What We Like

  • Messages eventually disappear forever.

  • Anonymous and private chat.

  • Unique security features.

What We Don't Like

  • No iOS version.

  • User account required.

  • Requests your current location.

This app is all about helping people come together to have conversations without being attached to a name, photo, or any other personal information. You can freely share news, opinions, secrets, confessionals, daily life experiences, pictures, and jokes with a vast community. You can also privately message or text people without sharing who you are. Anything you post to the community disappears after 48 hours, similar to Snapchat.

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FML Official: Read Funny, Embarrassing Stories From Semi-Anonymous Users

Two screenshots of the FML Official app for iOS.
What We Like

  • Anonymous story submissions are actually funny and entertaining.

  • You can react, post emojis or comment on stories.

  • New stories are posted daily.

What We Don't Like

  • App appears to take a long time to load.

  • Its social networking profiles are not anonymous.

  • If you follow someone, you can see their FML page by looking at their profile.

FML (which stands for F*** My Life) is an entertainment website where users can read and approve/disapprove of short submissions that tell funny yet unfortunate experiences. The app makes it easier to enjoy reading about other people's embarrassing situations and even doubles as a social network. Although story submissions remain semi-anonymous (only a vague code signature name like "Love is Blind" is included), the social network part of it functions like a traditional one where you have a full profile and an FML page where your submissions are stored.

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