TBH

TBH was an anonymous social networking application designed for high school students in the United States. The service centered on positive, peer-to-peer interactions: users answered multiple-choice questions about classmates, with the resulting messages generally framed as compliments rather than insults or open-ended anonymous posts. This format was intended to make anonymous communication more socially acceptable and less hostile than many earlier anonymous-message services. The app was created by Nikita Bier, Erik Hazzard, Kyle Zaragoza, and Nicolas Ducdodon and launched in September 2017. Its growth strategy concentrated on school-by-school adoption. According to reporting later obtained by BuzzFeed News, the founders used Instagram to reach teenagers at particular schools and timed outreach around the end of the school day, when students were likely to be checking their phones and discussing school life. This approach helped create local network effects: the product became more useful when many students from the same school joined. TBH achieved rapid early traction. In October 2017, it reached the top position in the United States App Store. The growth attracted substantial investor attention, with reported backers including Greylock Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Founders Fund, Semyon Dukach, Bee Partners, Dorm Room Fund, and Wayne Chang. Meta Platforms, then operating as Facebook, acquired the company later in October 2017 for an estimated price of approximately $100 million. Following the transaction, TBH operated as one of Meta's consumer product brands alongside services and products such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Oculus. The acquisition did not produce a lasting product. On July 2, 2018, Facebook announced that TBH would be discontinued because of low usage. The shutdown ended the original TBH service after less than a year of operation as a Meta-owned application. In August 2018, a confidential memo obtained by BuzzFeed News provided additional detail about the founders' user-acquisition methods, particularly their use of Instagram targeting and timing to attract teenagers at specific schools. In August 2022, co-creator Nikita Bier relaunched a substantially related concept under the name Gas. Gas also focused on high school students exchanging anonymous positive messages and compliments. Discord acquired Gas in early 2023. Gas was a successor project associated with TBH's creator and concept, but it was not the same operating brand as the original TBH application.

TBH was founded by Nikita Bier, Erik Hazzard, Kyle Zaragoza, and Nicolas Ducdodon and launched in September 2017. Its product was designed for high school students and used an anonymous interaction model built around structured questions and positive peer feedback. Rather than positioning anonymity primarily as a vehicle for unrestricted confession or criticism, TBH sought to make the format encouraging by asking users to identify classmates who matched complimentary prompts. The service grew through concentrated school-level adoption. The founders' reported marketing process used Instagram to reach teenagers connected to particular schools and took advantage of the period after the school day, when students were more likely to be online and socially engaged. This helped TBH create local density: once a meaningful number of students from a school joined, other students had more reasons to participate. By October 2017, TBH had reached the top position in the United States App Store. Its early performance attracted venture investors including Greylock Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Founders Fund, Semyon Dukach, Bee Partners, Dorm Room Fund, and Wayne Chang. Facebook subsequently acquired the company for an estimated $100 million. The acquisition brought TBH into Facebook's portfolio of consumer products, which also included Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Oculus. The product's independent life and Meta ownership period were brief. On July 2, 2018, Facebook stated that TBH would be discontinued because of low usage. The company and app therefore became defunct less than a year after the acquisition. In August 2018, BuzzFeed News reported on a confidential memo from the founders that detailed the use of Instagram targeting and carefully timed outreach to build adoption among students at selected schools. The reporting added context to the app's unusually rapid school-by-school expansion, but the available reference material does not establish a formal regulatory finding or legal violation. In August 2022, Nikita Bier relaunched a related concept as Gas. Gas retained the emphasis on anonymous, positive messages among high school students and is best understood as a successor project associated with one of TBH's co-creators rather than a continuation of the original TBH service. Discord acquired Gas in early 2023. The trajectory from TBH to Gas illustrates the appeal of lightweight, school-based social products, as well as the difficulty of sustaining engagement for a youth social network after its initial growth surge.

• 2023

  Gas acquired by Discord

  [1]Tbhen.wikipedia.org

  Discord acquires Gas in early 2023.

• 2022

  Related concept returns as Gas

  [1]Tbhen.wikipedia.org

  Co-creator Nikita Bier launches Gas, a related anonymous compliment app aimed at high school students.

• 2018

  Service discontinued

  [1]Tbhen.wikipedia.org

  Facebook announces that TBH will shut down because of low usage.

• 2017

  TBH launches

  [1]Tbhen.wikipedia.org

  The anonymous social networking app launches in September for high school students in the United States.

• 2017

  App Store breakthrough

  [1]Tbhen.wikipedia.org

  TBH reaches the number-one position in the United States App Store in October.

• 2017

  Acquisition by Facebook

  [1]Tbhen.wikipedia.org

  Facebook acquires the TBH company for an estimated approximately $100 million and adds the app to its brand portfolio.

A school-centered anonymous social app that emphasized positive compliments and structured peer interaction rather than unrestricted anonymous posting.

• Anonymous social networking · 2017

  TBH app

  TBH was a mobile social networking application for high school students. Its core experience used structured questions and anonymous responses to encourage users to compliment or positively recognize classmates. The school-centered design sought to generate local participation and avoid the more abusive or unmoderated dynamics associated with some anonymous social services. The original application was discontinued by Facebook in 2018 because of low usage.

• Related anonymous social networking app · 2022

  Gas

  Gas was launched in 2022 by TBH co-creator Nikita Bier as a related successor concept. Like TBH, it focused on high school students and anonymous positive messages or compliments. Gas was a separate product rather than a reactivation of the original TBH application. Discord acquired it in early 2023.

• 2017School-by-school Instagram outreach

  United States

  TBH used Instagram to target teenagers associated with specific schools and timed outreach around the end of the school day. The approach was intended to establish dense local networks and accelerate peer-driven adoption.

  Outcome. The campaign contributed to rapid early growth and helped TBH reach the top of the United States App Store.

  Source

• 2018

  Discontinuation of TBHOther

  Background

  Facebook reported that TBH had low usage after its acquisition.

  Action taken

  Facebook announced on July 2, 2018, that it would discontinue the application.

  Aftermath

  The original TBH service became defunct. A related concept later returned through Gas, launched by co-creator Nikita Bier in 2022.

  Source

• 2017

  Facebook acquisitionM&A

  Background

  TBH experienced rapid adoption among high school students and reached the top of the United States App Store shortly after launch.

  Action taken

  Facebook acquired the company and incorporated TBH into its portfolio of consumer brands. The transaction was estimated at approximately $100 million, although the reference material does not provide a primary transaction filing or confirmed consideration.

  Aftermath

  TBH remained available for less than a year after the acquisition before Facebook announced its discontinuation because of low usage.

  Estimated acquisition price. Approximately $100 million (2017 acquisition)

  Source

1. 1Tbhen.wikipedia.org