What’s All The Fuss About Sarahah?
The Sarahah app has taken iPhones and Android phones by storm in India.
Ever wanted to tell a colleague that you find him repulsive or tell your childhood friend that you fancied her when you were younger? These might be awkward conversations that you wouldn’t want to have on most occasions. But you can do all of this and a lot more unabashedly and anonymously, using a mobile application called Sarahah.
Sarahah, which literally means ‘honesty’ in Arabic, hit the app stores last year. It was created by Zain Alabdin Tawfiq, a Saudi developer.
Why Sarahah Went Viral
The concept seems quite unique. There’s no other application or platform that lets you receive honest feedback anonymously from friends or colleagues. And the concept of anonymity seems to be the reason why the app has gone viral across India and the world. It also functions on the same rationale as Facebook – which is the urge to instantly share our lives online and the need to know what’s happening with those around us. That’s what has come to be known on the internet as “social voyeurism”. It also perhaps explains why people would want to share anonymous feedback about themselves on social networks.
When it comes to user privacy, Saraha’s website claims that “it won't disclose the identity of the logged-in senders to users except with their consent”.
Over the past few weeks, the application has consistently ranked as one of the top apps on both Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store. In fact, it’s currently the top free app on iPhones in India.
Tawfiq is especially pleased that the app has been received so well in India as the country commands a special place in his heart. In a tweet, Tawfiq mentioned that his first job was at Wipro, one of India’s largest software services company.
How The App Works
Once you have downloaded and installed the app, you have to set up an account with a username, name, email and a password. The app asks for access to your contact list and to send you push notifications. Once logged in, you can share anonymous feedback received by fellow Sarahah users (who have your username) on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp or copy it onto Snapchat, Instagram and the like. If you want to text a comment on somebody’s account, then the app prompts you to do that saying, “Leave a constructive message :)”
On receiving the message, users can like the message, share it or even block the sender if they think it’s inappropriate. Although you can’t respond to messages for now, the developers say they are “studying this option” as well.