Should I Build It Should I Build It
16 May 2025
Messaging

An app where users can send messages anoynymously like their thoughts ...

...or their inner messesges to other users maybe their friends or strangers.

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

Your idea for an anonymous messaging app enters a crowded space, categorized as a "Swamp" due to numerous existing solutions that haven't resonated strongly with users. The presence of 10 similar products indicates substantial competition. While the average engagement (2 comments) on these similar products is low, launches like 'BlimApp', 'Anonspace', 'Shadowticks' and 'Soothe' received some positive feedback regarding their focus on privacy and the concept of kindness. However, your biggest challenge is that most of these apps struggled to achieve widespread adoption or generate significant revenue. Given this landscape, success hinges on offering something radically different or catering to a specific, underserved niche, but generally, the recommendation is NOT to build this.

Recommendations

  1. Given the saturated market, your first step should be to deeply analyze why existing anonymous messaging apps haven't achieved mainstream success. Scrutinize their shortcomings in user experience, privacy safeguards, moderation, or monetization strategies. The criticisms from the 'Anony Botter' launch (around GPT-3 content rewriting for anonymity) and 'Soothe' launch (around trust and moderation) indicate key problems.
  2. If you remain passionate about this idea, identify a very specific niche with unmet needs. For example, focus on anonymous communication for specific professional groups (e.g., developers sharing code snippets), or people with specific medical conditions (offering anonymous support). Your messaging app needs to be meaningfully different, not just another face in the crowd. Think niche communities with specific requirements like security, trust, and content moderation.
  3. Instead of building a standalone app, explore the possibility of creating anonymous messaging tools or plugins for existing platforms like Slack, Discord, or Microsoft Teams. This could provide a faster route to market and leverage established user bases. The 'Anony Botter' Slack app indicates that there's some demand for such functionality.
  4. Consider pivoting to an adjacent problem that might be more promising. For example, instead of anonymous messaging, focus on secure and private communication for sensitive data, or tools to facilitate anonymous feedback within organizations. Shift your focus to the core need and consider adjacent use cases that may have more traction.
  5. If the competitive landscape and lack of clear differentiation pose insurmountable challenges, seriously consider reallocating your time and resources to a different, more viable startup idea. Don't fall in love with the first idea.

Questions

  1. What critical flaws do existing anonymous messaging apps possess that you can uniquely address, and how will you validate these assumptions before building?
  2. What specific mechanisms will you implement to prevent misuse and abuse on your platform, and how will you ensure that these measures are both effective and respect user privacy?
  3. How will you monetize your app in a way that aligns with the principles of anonymity and privacy, and what alternative revenue streams have you explored?

Your are here

Your idea for an anonymous messaging app enters a crowded space, categorized as a "Swamp" due to numerous existing solutions that haven't resonated strongly with users. The presence of 10 similar products indicates substantial competition. While the average engagement (2 comments) on these similar products is low, launches like 'BlimApp', 'Anonspace', 'Shadowticks' and 'Soothe' received some positive feedback regarding their focus on privacy and the concept of kindness. However, your biggest challenge is that most of these apps struggled to achieve widespread adoption or generate significant revenue. Given this landscape, success hinges on offering something radically different or catering to a specific, underserved niche, but generally, the recommendation is NOT to build this.

Recommendations

  1. Given the saturated market, your first step should be to deeply analyze why existing anonymous messaging apps haven't achieved mainstream success. Scrutinize their shortcomings in user experience, privacy safeguards, moderation, or monetization strategies. The criticisms from the 'Anony Botter' launch (around GPT-3 content rewriting for anonymity) and 'Soothe' launch (around trust and moderation) indicate key problems.
  2. If you remain passionate about this idea, identify a very specific niche with unmet needs. For example, focus on anonymous communication for specific professional groups (e.g., developers sharing code snippets), or people with specific medical conditions (offering anonymous support). Your messaging app needs to be meaningfully different, not just another face in the crowd. Think niche communities with specific requirements like security, trust, and content moderation.
  3. Instead of building a standalone app, explore the possibility of creating anonymous messaging tools or plugins for existing platforms like Slack, Discord, or Microsoft Teams. This could provide a faster route to market and leverage established user bases. The 'Anony Botter' Slack app indicates that there's some demand for such functionality.
  4. Consider pivoting to an adjacent problem that might be more promising. For example, instead of anonymous messaging, focus on secure and private communication for sensitive data, or tools to facilitate anonymous feedback within organizations. Shift your focus to the core need and consider adjacent use cases that may have more traction.
  5. If the competitive landscape and lack of clear differentiation pose insurmountable challenges, seriously consider reallocating your time and resources to a different, more viable startup idea. Don't fall in love with the first idea.

Questions

  1. What critical flaws do existing anonymous messaging apps possess that you can uniquely address, and how will you validate these assumptions before building?
  2. What specific mechanisms will you implement to prevent misuse and abuse on your platform, and how will you ensure that these measures are both effective and respect user privacy?
  3. How will you monetize your app in a way that aligns with the principles of anonymity and privacy, and what alternative revenue streams have you explored?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 10
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 2
  • Net use signal: 16.2%
    • Positive use signal: 16.2%
    • Negative use signal: 0.0%
  • Net buy signal: 0.0%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 0.0%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

Similar products

Relevance

BlimApp - Send anonymous messages

09 Aug 2023 Android Social Networking Messaging

BlimApp is an anonymous messaging app that provides users with a unique way to send and receive anonymous messages, referred to as Blims.

The Product Hunt launch received positive feedback, with users congratulating the team and expressing interest in the idea. Several comments highlighted the importance of the product's focus on privacy and anonymity in daily life, suggesting strong support for this aspect of the concept.

Avatar
72
3
3
72
Relevance

AnonSocial - Social media

04 Nov 2024 User Experience Social Media

AnonSocial is a social media app designed to let users express themselves freely and anonymously. With features like anonymous posts, discussion boards, and customizable privacy settings, AnonSocial fosters genuine and open communication while keeping user

Avatar
7
7
Relevance

Shadowticks - Anonymous messaging, chat in incognito mode, encryption

16 Aug 2023 Social Media Anonymous Messaging

Tired of masking your thoughts? Our platform lets you chat without revealing your identity, allowing you to express freely. It's a space where you can share ideas openly, engage with diverse perspectives, and build meaningful connections.

The Product Hunt launch received positive feedback, with users congratulating the team and expressing excitement to try the app. Users find the anonymous platform exciting, user-friendly, and secure for communication. Questions were raised regarding content curation and user data handling. The app is considered amazing by some. A user also mentioned shadowticks and their influence on forest ecology.

Avatar
110
7
28.6%
7
110
28.6%
Relevance

Soothe - Anonymous app for kindness

18 Dec 2024 Health Community Anonymous

Give and get kindness. A social app where you send and receive messages of compassion.

The Product Hunt launch garnered positive feedback, with users expressing enthusiasm for the app's concept of spreading kindness and compassion. Early adopters are sought for feedback to improve the app. Suggestions included adding a feature to send items to others, and emphasizing anonymity and trust within the kindness spaces. A user inquired if both parties need the app to function. The logo received praise. Overall, the concept was well-received.

A key concern raised is maintaining user anonymity and fostering trust to ensure the platform remains a safe space for all participants. Addressing these factors is crucial for the product's long-term success and user adoption.

Avatar
188
8
12.5%
8
188
12.5%
Relevance

Anony Botter - Free Slack app to send anonymous messages and polls

03 Feb 2023 Privacy Slack Messaging

Anonymity Bot allows you to send anonymous messages within Slack without revealing your identity to anybody. Type /anony in channel to initiate.

The launch was congratulated. A suggestion was made to rewrite content to ensure anonymity. Anony Botter is considered revolutionary for improving team communication by promoting inclusivity and open expression.

The primary criticism suggests that anonymity measures are insufficient. Users recommend employing GPT-3 to rewrite content to further obscure the original source.

Avatar
65
2
50.0%
2
65
50.0%
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