Post complaints of "Bullying", Popular Anonymous Messaging App "Sarahah" taken off Apple & Google App Stores

March 5,2018:

Petition accused Sarahah of facilitating "bullying" and "self harm", and quickly gained nearly 470,000 supporters.

Once a wildly popular anonymous messaging app, Sarahah has now been removed from Apple and Google App Stores after the accusations that it has been facilitating bullying.

But Company's Chief Executive denies the claims and says the app isn't meant to be used by younger teens.

Katrina Collins was appalled by anonymous messages being sent to her 13-year-old daughter. One of the messages read that "She hoped her daughter would kill herself". Others used extremely foul and offensive language.

Sarahah app, which was designed to allow people to leave "honest feedback" about the colleagues and friends. Although Collins' daughter wasn't actually using the app, she saw the messages after a friend downloaded it and showed them to her.

Collins, who lives in Australia, put up a post on online petition site Change.org. She called for App to be removed from two of the biggest mobile storefronts - Apple's App store and Google's Play store.

The app was then taken down from both the Apple and Google stores. It appears the companies took action in response to the petition, although a Google spokesperson said "we don't comment on specific apps" and Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

Zain-Alabdin Tawfiq, the CEO of Sarahah, has disputed Collins' allegations. He says the decision by Apple and Google to remove the app was "unfortunate", but is "very optimistic about reaching a favourable understanding with them soon."

The app has had an up-and-down ride since it was launched a year ago. It became an instant success , worldwide, more than 300 million users have created accounts. Sarahah, which was developed in Saudi Arabia, topped Apple's App Store in more than 30 countries in July.

Sarahah, which is named after the Arabic word for "honesty", aims to allow users to receive anonymous constructive feedback. But Katrina Collins, the woman behind the petition, says it also "facilitates cyberbullying".