Sarahah app

Sarahah is a word which means candour. It is an app that has started with the best of intentions but as with much of social media it can be abused and you should therefore be aware of it and its implications.

​What is Sarahah?
Sarahah originally started out as a website intended for employees to give anonymous feedback to their employers. According to the app’s website – ‘Sarahah helps you in discovering your strengths and areas for improvement by receiving honest feedback from your employees and your friends in a private manner’.
 
How it works?
Once the Sarahah app has been downloaded, users must create an account on the app. The user will create their name ie name.sarahah.com. They can then search for other Sarahah users on the app and send anonymous text based messages. The main difference with this app compared to others is that users can only send messages – they cannot respond to messages received.
 
The app does offer some limited privacy features which allow users control over the following 2 options:
• Appear in search
• Receive messages from non–registered users
As with other anonymous apps, there is always the potential for apps of this nature to be misused in relation to bullying, harassment or abuse. Teenagers can also use the Snapchat ‘Paperclip’ feature to share links to their Sarahah profile, encouraging others to send them anonymous feedback. 

Cyberbullying, unfortunately, is not a new phenomenon and it definitely did not start with Sarahah but the anonymous nature of the app does lend itself to nasty and hurtful comments. We would therefore advise that you speak to your child about this app and ensure their safety online.