Anonymous question app Sendit deceived children and illegally collected their data, FTC alleges

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a Complaint In contrast to the Sandit, an anonymous question app that becomes popular with General Z and John, to illegally collecting children’s data, cheats users about who has sent their messages and drives the users’ membership.

At Sandit, users – most teenagers – they can send anonymous questions to each other by integrating Instagram, Tikatok or Snapchat. Has been cropped for years with several applications like this Eolo and LMKWhich was suspended in Snapchat in 2021 because of the suit against a child’s suicide. After this suspension, the Sandit gains rapidly Download 3.5 millionThe users came to the app to replace them as they were no longer available.

By next year, TechCrunch Reporting Sandit and new anonymous question applications have been found LMKFake messages were misleading, including users, then offers the application to reveal who sent it.

This report was echoed in the FTC charges, it states that Sandit has sent duplicate, provocative messages to the users (eg “Will you ever get with me?” Or “Did you drug?”).

If a user would like to see who sent a message, they could spend $ 9.99 for “Diamond Membership”, the FTC claimed it was not clear that it was a repetitive weekly payment, and not a one -time cost. If a user reveals “identity” behind a message that was actually submitted by the Sandit, they will be given false information.

FTCO has accused the users under the age of 13 without parents consent, which is illegal that is illegal Copa (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act). Specifically, the FTC has quoted an example since 2022 when more than 16.5 users said they were under the age of 5, but the shipper guardian did not inform the heart that it had collected, or asked for permission.

In the same year, TechCrunch discovered that Sandit users were complaining at App Store Reviews that the Sandit itself was marketed as “Sandit Publish” for the Instagram app, an application that would “publish” their anonymous message.

At that time, when TechCrunch asked the Sendit founder Hunter Rice about these dark patterns, he suggested that we were looking for clickboats.

Rice “” there are so many great things about what we’re doing ” Tell TechCrunch In 2022. “Welcome to make fun of you with this topic, but I’m just interested in talking about the real news” “

Item A contestant, NGL suitIn 2022, it stole the idea of ​​fake, anonymous question and other trade privacy. NGL was Forced to finish the practice later Following the TechCrunch report to stay in the App Store.