{"id":19376,"date":"2022-07-19T18:23:51","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T18:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ngl-is-the-app-that-will-tell-you-what-you-dont-want-to-hear\/"},"modified":"2022-07-19T18:23:51","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T18:23:51","slug":"ngl-is-the-app-that-will-tell-you-what-you-dont-want-to-hear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ngl-is-the-app-that-will-tell-you-what-you-dont-want-to-hear\/","title":{"rendered":"NGL Is the App That Will Tell You What You Don&#8217;t Want to Hear"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">it seems that every few years, a new anonymous-messaging platform enters the market;  rapidly gains a fan base, investments and media attention;  then crashes and burns.  Usually, the cause is some combination of unfettered bullying, harassment or misinformation that blooms within the platform.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And yet, the apps keep coming.  One of the latest arrivals is NGL, which invites users to solicit anonymous questions and comments from their followers on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or elsewhere.  NGL, the app&#8217;s website explains, \u201cstands for not gonna lie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During June and the first half of July, NGL was downloaded about 3.2 million times in the United States, according to Sensor Tower, an app analytics firm.  It was the 10th most downloaded app in the Apple and Google Play stores in June, Sensor Tower said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAnonymity has always been the secret sauce,\u201d said Sherry Turkle, an MIT professor who studies people&#8217;s relationships with technology.  She said that the craving for anonymous self-expression was nothing new, pointing to the confessional booth in some churches as an example.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But, she added, the desire for anonymity has never been about anonymity itself.  After all, in many cases, the promise of anonymity is false, or at best qualified \u2014 the priest often knows who the confessor is, and apps that collect and distribute secrets are simultaneously collecting their users&#8217; private data.  In fact, NGL, which was started in November, goes even further, offering users hints about their comment for $9.99 per week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAnonymity is a way to open the door to a feeling of space and permission, to a liminal space between realms where you can express something true or speak something true that you can&#8217;t in the rest of your life,\u201d said Professor Turkle, the author of \u201cThe Empathy Diaries: A Memoir.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Harold David, 34, an administrator for a fitness company in New York, recently tried out NGL.  \u201cIt&#8217;s fun to see what people will say when it&#8217;s anonymous,\u201d he said.  \u201cWho wouldn&#8217;t want to know someone&#8217;s secret thoughts on them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He said he had seen a few friends use the app and expected \u201cmore crass or more lewd\u201d comments.  But, he said, \u201cit was actually a warm flood of responses about people&#8217;s experiences with me, so it was a really nice surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The experience of Haras Shirley, 26, a school resource officer in Indianpolis, was not as positive.  Mr.  Shirley received about a dozen responses after posting a link to NGL on Facebook and Instagram.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI figured there would be more questions about my transition, and I&#8217;d be able to give some insight into how to ask those questions appropriately,\u201d he said.  Instead, he said, most of the questions were shallow, asking what his favorite color is or what was the last thing he ate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He understands the appeal of the app.  \u201cThese apps give you the idea that people are interested in who you are and want to know more about you,\u201d he said.  But it is not for him.  \u201cThis really is geared toward kids in middle and high school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As quickly as the app has risen, it has run into criticism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Anonymous-messaging platforms like ASKfm, Yik Yak, Yolo and LMK have long struggled to contain bullying, harassment and threats of violence.  Messages on Yik Yak led several schools to evacuate students in response to bomb and shooting threats.  Yolo and LMK, anonymous-messaging apps, are being sued by the mother of a teenager who committed suicide (the apps were integrated into Snapchat, whose parent company, Snap, was initially a defendant in the lawsuit, but no longer is). <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Secret, yet another anonymous-messaging app, shut down in 2015 despite investments from major Silicon Valley players.  In a Medium post announcing the company&#8217;s closure, David Byttow, one of its founders, wrote that anonymity is \u201cthe ultimate double-edged sword.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mitch Prinstein, the science officer at the American Psychological Association, said that on the internet, people assume that the chief opinions of a few represent a large subsection of the population.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAnonymity,\u201d he said, \u201cmakes this worse.\u201d  The result is that if someone leaves an anonymous comment saying your haircut is ugly, for example, you begin to think that everyone thinks your haircut is ugly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">NGL&#8217;s website says that its community guidelines are \u201ccoming soon\u201d and that the app uses \u201cworld-class AI content moderation.\u201d  It directs users to the website of Hive Moderation, a company that uses a software to filter text, images and audio based on categories like bullying and violence.  NGL did not respond to emailed requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Pamela Rutledge, the director of the Media Psychology Research Center, pointed out that \u201cyou don&#8217;t have to use trigger words to be unkind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf someone starts using racial slurs or whatever they can get past the AI, you can block them,\u201d Dr.  Rutledge said.  \u201cBut it&#8217;s hard to draw boundaries around the comments that undermine how you think about yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Reggie Baril, 28, a musician in Los Angeles, posted an NGL link for his 12,000 followers on Instagram, he expected questions about his career.  \u201cI was very wrong,\u201d he said.  Of the 130 responses he got, there was \u201cmore hate than not.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He read a couple of comments aloud during a phone interview.  \u201cYou could be so successful but your attitude is awful, you won&#8217;t make it,\u201d he said.  \u201cI&#8217;m not sure 2015 Reggie would like 2022 Reggie.\u201d  Another one called him \u201ca social climber.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He was surprised by the acidity.  \u201cI&#8217;m not a confrontational person in the slightest,\u201d he said.  \u201cI love making jokes, being goofy and silly.\u201d  He decided not to take the comments personally.  \u201cI read a lot of insecurity in the subtext,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In reviews online, NGL users have said that the app serves them fake questions and comments, a phenomenon that technology-focused publications including TechCrunch say they have replicated with their own tests.  It is not clear whether these responses are generated by the app or by bots.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Johnny G. Lloyd, 32, a playwright who lives in New York, downloaded NGL as a way to increase engagement on his Instagram ahead of the premiere of his new play.  In the three times he used it, he noticed some odd submissions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI got one question that was like, &#8216;What girl did you text most recently?&#8217;\u201d he said.  \u201cThis doesn&#8217;t matter in my life at all.  That&#8217;s barking up the wrong tree.\u201d  Another message was more cryptic.  \u201cIt said &#8216;u know what u did,&#8217;\u201d Mr.  Lloyd said.  \u201cIt was clearly for a younger audience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Clayton Wong, 29, an editorial assistant in Los Angeles, tried out NGL, he received an unexpected \u201cconfession\u201d that told him to search for a specific love song online.  Mr.  Wong was immediately suspicious.  \u201cI didn&#8217;t think the song was very good,\u201d he said.  \u201cIf this person knew me, they would know this isn&#8217;t something I would be into.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After he scrolled through the comments on the song on YouTube, he realized dozens of people had received an anonymous \u201cconfession\u201d of feelings that had directed them to the same video.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A musician friend of Mr.  Baril&#8217;s, Johan Lenox, expected a \u201cchaotic\u201d NGL experience, but he got the opposite.  He was surprised people wanted to shield their identity when asking questions like what he does after performing or what it&#8217;s like to be a musician.  It left him wondering about the point of the app.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf you want to talk to somebody, how are you going to accomplish this by sending anonymous notes?\u201d  he said.  He thinks NGL will meet the fate of other apps that disappeared as quickly as they appeared.  \u201cNo one will talk about it again in a month,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Alain Delaqu\u00e9riere<!-- --> contributed research.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>it seems that every few years, a new anonymous-messaging platform enters the market; rapidly gains a fan base, investments and media attention; then crashes and burns. Usually, the cause is some combination of unfettered bullying, harassment or misinformation that blooms within the platform. And yet, the apps keep coming. One of the latest arrivals is &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ngl-is-the-app-that-will-tell-you-what-you-dont-want-to-hear\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">NGL Is the App That Will Tell You What You Don&#8217;t Want to Hear<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14148,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ngl-fooled-users-into-thinking-they-had-friends-interested-in-their-sad-little-lives\/","url_meta":{"origin":19376,"position":0},"title":"NGL Fooled Users Into Thinking They Had Friends Interested In Their Sad Little Lives","date":"July 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Screengrab from NGL's website. NGL is the latest installment in the craze of anonymous messaging apps. Post a link on your Instagram story saying, \u201cAsk me anything!\u201d and your friends will click it to respond with questions. At least, that's what NGL says. But users are increasingly claiming they got\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16168,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/not-gonna-lie-this-ngl-argument-is-kinda-juicy-techcrunch\/","url_meta":{"origin":19376,"position":1},"title":"Not gonna lie, this NGL argument is kinda juicy \u2013 \u200b\u200bTechCrunch","date":"July 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The anonymous Q&A app NGL climbed to the top of the App Store by tricking its users with questions it claims are sent in by their friends and by charging for useless hints about who supposedly wrote those messages. But many of the questions users don't receive from real people;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5374,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/why-is-everyone-using-ngl-on-instagram\/","url_meta":{"origin":19376,"position":2},"title":"Why Is Everyone Using NGL on Instagram?","date":"July 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"screenshot: Lindsey EllefsonSince introducing trendy new apps like BeReal and Dimensional is my schtick now, it's important I bring you news of NGL, an app that pairs with your Instagram account and gives people the ability to send you completely anonymous messages.What is NGL?NGL is just the latest in a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15953,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/thanks-to-subscriptions-iphone-apps-finally-made-more-money-than-games\/","url_meta":{"origin":19376,"position":3},"title":"Thanks to subscriptions, iPhone apps finally made more money than games","date":"July 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"enlarge \/ Apple's App Store. Throughout the short history of smartphone apps, games have consistently driven more revenue than non-gaming app categories. But that has finally changed in the United States, according to new data from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower. The shift began in May 2022. By June, 50.3\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2022\/07\/15\/fashion\/15NGL-1\/15NGL-1-facebookJumbo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19376"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19376\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}