{"id":32848,"date":"2014-02-04T05:00:13","date_gmt":"2014-02-04T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.mcafee.com\/?p=32848"},"modified":"2025-08-27T22:31:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T05:31:46","slug":"whisper-app-teens-blast-parents-may-gasp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/whisper-app-teens-blast-parents-may-gasp\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Whisper’ App: Teens Are Having a Blast but Parents May Gasp"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Everyone loves a good secret. Tack anonymity to a whisper and the recipe for juicy fun spikes considerably.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the premise of the new mobile app, Whisper, a social network where personal \u201csecrets\u201d are shared\u2014and responded to\u2014anonymously. Popular with college students, messages are posted to the service in the form of a meme (image macro), which is simply original text overlaid on a photograph.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the app works: Each user establishes an account with a chosen nick name and pin number for accessing private messages They can then browse through a public stream of photos with a diverse collection of secrets laid over them. Users can see who posted the image and respond publicly or privately (via direct message), also using a photo meme. Or, they can scroll through the person\u2019s past secrets to see if there\u2019s a friendship or connection. Many users post their location and you can view a stream of secrets within miles of your own location.<\/p>\n

Sound a bit covert? Potentially seedy? It is.<\/p>\n

While the app recommends users be over 17 this mom would quickly jack that number even higher.<\/p>\n

After using the app for several days it was clear that the bad of this app far outweig<\/p>\n

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hs the good. While it was great to see many uplifting, positive \u201csecrets\u201d posted and responded to in an equal vibe, every third kind post was flanked by crude, mean, and borderline pornographic \u201csecrets\u201d which were really just statements or invitations to more crude behavior. The app seemed more a sex or drug hook up app \u00a0than a social network that could hold any merit based on its content.<\/p>\n

Another red flag: Whisper sharing welcomes a very real sense of despair (no, you won\u2019t find that in the app description<\/a>). Several user secretsconfessed to tragic events, loss, despair, and abuse. It felt good to respond to several posts with honest words of hope but frankly, because of Whisper\u2019s anonymous culture, there\u2019s no true way to know if the tragic secrets shared are real or fabricated by a lonely (or predatory) user in an effort to make a connection . . . to anyone.<\/p>\n

Perhaps that\u2019s why it was not alarming after the first few days to scroll past the secrets that had a suicidal tone. Scrolling through an ocean of despair day after day leads to an (unintentional) overwhelming sense of helplessness and diluted urgency. Sad, but true. The heavy content affected me; just think about the effect it can have on a teenager.<\/p>\n

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The Pros<\/strong><\/h2>\n