Secret’s relaunch adds 1-on-1 chat and location-based sharing

Secret, the anonymous broadcasting app that was all the rage earlier this year, has relaunched with a new design and significant new features in an attempt to win back some buzz.

In the new version, the feed shows snippets of text, while the images that once dominated the feed are now small thumbnails users have to tap to see. The broadcasting of public posts is now split between those from friends and those that are location-based, similarly to Yik Yak, another anonymous mobile app focused on college campuses and local communities. Additionally, users can tap on another user’s avatar and start one-on-one anonymous chats.

It’s not hard to see why Secret’s team has decided to update the app so extensively. Despite its explosive popularity shortly after  launch, that excitement dwindled once others, especially Yik Yak, distracted our attention. Apps like Anonyfish, a third-party app that lets Secret users chat one-on-one, became hugely popular — a sign that users really wanted that ability.

The company is still keeping Dens, its workplace feature that lets employees verify their employee status and anonymously share with coworkers. It will, however, eliminate the web version, where it hosted popular posts from users.

A couple of months ago, Secret launched Ping, an app for content discovery focused on simplicity that came out of an internal hackathon. At the time, this spurred questions as to whether Secret was planning a pivot given its flagship app’s dwindling popularity.

Secret was founded in 2013 by Chrys Bader-Wechseler and David Byttow, and is based in San Francisco. It has raised $35 million in total funding. Secret is available for both iOS and Android.