In just nine weeks, tbh had already reached 5 million downloads and achieved a daily active user base of 2.5 million, even though it's only been launched in select U.S. states in August.
Catching wind of the app's popularity in the teenage audience, Facebook swiftly acquires it.
The Purpose Of tbh
As everyone has probably guessed, tbh stands for "to be honest." As for what tbh does, it's basically a polling app filled with good-natured multiple-choice questions. These are then answered anonymously by the users' friends and are sent to the users in the form of positive feedback.
For instance, there'll be questions such as "Who has the best smile?" with a set of answers based on the entries of people that the user loaded to the app.
It's aimed to improve the mental health of teens, and the people behind it — Nikita Bier, Erik Hazzard, Kyle Zaragoza, and Nicolas Ducdodon — say that the next milestone for the internet age is "meeting people's emotional needs."
By "emotional needs," they refer to the support that users require to address such serious disorders as depression and the help they need to build better relationships.
They add that this move is perfect not only to reach more people but also to accomplish their app's purpose.
"When we met with Facebook, we realized that we shared many of the same core values about connecting people through positive interactions. Most of all, we were compelled by the ways they could help us realize tbh's vision and bring it to more people," the creators say.
They also assure users that tbh will continue the way it is despite the acquisition and that more features are going to come their way. The only difference is that they have access to more resources because of Facebook.
Facebook Acquisition
The amount of the deal hasn't been disclosed, but according to TechCrunch, it's "less than $100 million and won't require any regulatory approval." However, there's no word on when the acquisition actually took place.
While tbh will remain as a stand-alone app in the App Store, the cofounders will technically be Facebook employees. That means they won't have their own building and email addresses, which is in contrast with the situation of teams for other Facebook-owned entities such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
Facebook spokesperson Vanessa Chan told Business Insider that the team will move into the social media company's headquarters in Silicon Valley from its original workplace in Oakland, California.
