tbh

Submission 5,503

About

tbh is a social media gossip app similar to Sarahah or Yik Yak. However, unlike those apps, the app only allows for complimentary gossip by having users interact with positive questions about their peers.

Origin

According to the ios App store, tbh was released on January 30th, 2017 by Midnight Labs LLC.^[1] It did not begin seeing use until early August of 2017, however.^[2]

Features

Users connect their address book to the app, and then the app serves up a series of multiple choice questions featuring their peers (for example, "Who has the best smile?" or "Who is the world's best party planner?"

The choices are anonymous. However, when a user is picked in a poll, they will be alerted of the gender and age of the person that picked them (i.e. "A girl in tenth grade thinks you have the best smile"). When picked, a user receives "gems" that allow them to access more features of the app. It is available for free from the iTunes store, and is not currently available for Android devices. ^[6]

Spread

tbh launched at a single high school in Georgia in early August 2017.^[3] According to a report by Select All, the app was downloaded by 40% of the student body in one day. The following day, the app expanded to three more schools. The app has since expanded to nine U.S. states: Florida, Washington, Rhode Island, Texas, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, and California. Select All also reports that it is looking to expand into New York soon. The app was profiled by Mic^[2] on September 17th, 2017, the first time it was given media attention. Fortune^[4] followed that day, as did Business Insider the following day.^[5]