// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Sarahah say to the mail? You've got a secret.
 | |
Website type | Comparison surveys |
|---|---|
| Available in | 2 languages |
| Founded | November 2016[1] |
| Headquarters | |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Founder | Zain-Alabdin Tawfiq[1] |
| Industry | Internet |
| Website | www |
| Advertising | Yes |
| Registration | None |
| Users | 300 million+ registered accounts (2018)[2] |
| Current status | Active |
Sarahah (Arabic: صراحة, romanized: ṣarāḥa) is a Saudi Arabian website. In Arabic, sarahah means "frankness" or "honesty".[1] It launched in 2016 as a social networking service for anonymous feedback, and by February 2018 more than 300 million accounts had been created.[2] The messaging service closed in 2021. Sarahah now publishes statistics on everyday habits and preferences, compiled from responses to its short quizzes.
Sarahah allowed people to text messages to others and the person reading that could then reply anonymously. Initially, it was meant for workers to compliment their bosses. Spam was frequent, sent by third-party apps claiming to be able to reveal the usernames of anonymous senders.
History
[edit]It was created by Zain-Alabdin Tawfiq at the end of 2016 and reached a sudden worldwide success by mid-2017.[1] This growth is considered to be deeply related with the release of a Snapchat update that allowed people to share URLs on their snaps.[1][3]
It was released on the US Apple App Store on 13 June 2017, and also had users in several other countries including Canada, India, and Lebanon. An update was released by Snapchat on July 5. Within two weeks, it was at the number 1 position. The rise was also seen in a Google Trends report.[4]
On 26 August 2017, it was reported that the Sarahah mobile app quietly uploads the user's address book to its web servers.[5]
On 12 January 2018, Katrina Collins, after friends of her 13-year-old daughter sent her abusive messages, started a petition to have the app banned.[6] The petition gained nearly 470,000 supporters. Both Apple and Google had removed the app from their stores.[2][7]
In 2019, Sarahah launched an iOS app called Enoff (pronounced “enough”), intended for anonymous reporting of workplace issues.[8][9]
Sarahah announced the closure of its messaging platform in December 2021.
Current platform
[edit]Sarahah publishes statistics on everyday habits and preferences, compiled from responses to its short quizzes. Respondents answer sets of eight multiple-choice questions on topics including breakfast, coffee, dark mode, airport habits, spicy food, voice notes and the use of AI in search, then see how their answers compare with those of other respondents. No account is required. Comparative percentages and percentiles are withheld until a quiz has at least 50 accepted responses, and the site publishes a methodology page describing how scores and percentiles are calculated.[10]
See also
[edit]- Anonymous social media
- Ask.fm – a service which used to be anonymous, and was linked to several teen suicides in 2013[2]
- Secret (app) – a similar service which was shut down in 2015[2]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bell, Karissa (23 July 2017). "The story of Sarahah, the app that's dominating the App Store". Mashable. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Sarahah: Anonymous app dropped from Apple and Google stores after bullying accusations". BBC. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ↑ Bradshaw, Tim (28 July 2017). "Can Sarahah survive the trolls?". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ↑ "Google Trends". Google Trends. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Grauer, Yael (27 August 2017). "Hit App Sarahah Quietly Uploads Your Address Book". The Intercept. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ↑ "'Did I miss something?': Dolly's friend makes emotional statement". Special Broadcasting Service . 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ↑ "Sarahah: Popular anonymous messaging app blamed for making abuse easy is kicked off iPhone and Android". The Independent. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (2019-01-31). "After bans from Apple and Google, Sarahah debuts Enoff, an iOS app for anonymous feedback at work". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ↑ "Sarahah Founder Unveils New Workplace Reporting Tool Enoff". Fortune. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
- ↑ "Methodology". Sarahah. Retrieved 16 September 2026.