Facebook Buys App That Is Opposed to Cyberbullying

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) has acquired an app that might be considered as the antithesis of social media bullying. The app is called tbh, and it is popular among teens because it creates prewritten compliments and prevents people from writing harsh comments and cyberbullying.

Facebook, whose other acquisitions include WhatsApp and Instagram, did not confirm a price for tbh. However, TechCrunch said it heard the price paid was less than $100 million.

The website also said that as part of the deal, tbh’s co-creators — Nikita Bier, Erik Hazzard, Kyle Zaragoza and Nicolas Ducdodon — will join Facebook and continue to grow their app.

According to tbh, which stands for “to be honest,” more than 5 million people have downloaded the app so far and sent over a billion messages since the app was launched in August.

Among the prewritten compliments on the app are “who has the best smile” and “who makes me laugh the hardest.”

In making the announcement on its website, tbh said:

When we set out to build tbh, we wanted to create a community that made us feel happier and more confident about ourselves. We felt that people craved genuine and positive interactions in their online experiences.

While the last decade of the Internet has been focused on open communication, the next milestone will be around meeting people’s emotional needs.

It looks like this hunch might be true: over the last few weeks, over 5 million people have downloaded tbh and sent over a billion messages. More importantly, we’ve been inspired by the countless stories where tbh helped people recover from depression and form better relationships with friends.

Today we’re announcing that we’re joining Facebook to continue our mission.