"People Are Either Too Fake or Too Real": Opportunities and Challenges in Tie-Based Anonymity

In recent years, several mobile applications allowed individuals
to anonymously share information with friends and contacts,
without any persistent identity marker. The functions of
these “tie-based” anonymity services may be notably different
than other social media services. We use semi-structured
interviews to qualitatively examine motivations, practices and
perceptions in two tie-based anonymity apps: Secret (now defunct,
in the US) and Mimi (in China). Among the findings,
we show that: (1) while users are more comfortable in selfdisclosure,
they still have specific practices and strategies to
avoid or allow identification; (2) attempts for de-identification
of others are prevalent and often elaborate; and (3) participants
come to expect both negativity and support in response
to posts. Our findings highlight unique opportunities and potential
benefits for tie-based anonymity apps, including serving
disclosure needs and social probing. Still, challenges for
making such applications successful, for example the prevalence
of negativity and bullying, are substantial.