The world of social networks is much wider than it first appears. Lots of us might know about the popular Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram platforms, but the social media universe never stops growing. Today we’re introducing you to a different social network, one based in theory on talking to people around you. Yik Yak uses geolocation to connect you to people nearby so you can start up conversations. But its main appeal is something else: anonymity.
Yik Yak was born as a sort of bulletin board for US college students. (Remind you of anything?) At first its founders developed it with the idea of bringing us back together with people in our physical vicinity – whether to talk about places nearly or simply to chat a while. This is still applicable but it doesn’t go far enough in describing the possibilities offered by Yik Yak.
This social network is rather reminiscent of Reddit. The different messages can be upvoted or downvoted and have open commentaries. The order of the comments is up to you: you can display them chronologically or by upvotes. You’ll have to register to be able to access Yik Yak, but this is the interesting bit: all you need to provide is a username and phone number for verification. From there everything you do in the app can be done anonymously, including sending messages, or using the profile you’ve created.
It must be said that if you live in a country like Spain, the 14-kilometer radius of action used by Yik Yak is a bit small. The truth is that there’s not a lot of action happening on the app here in Spain, but luckily you can access other communities. Whether it’s in your own country or places suggested by the app, in those communities you can interact the same way: by writing messages on the board, commenting on other people’s posts, and voting on them.
There’s really no comparison between countries where Yik Yak has just rolled out and its presence in the United States, as it’s there that the social network is in its prime: tons of open boards, surveys done by the app’s own team, trending topics…. We do hope it keeps getting rolled out in more countries, though obviously that depends in large part on how much activity it can attract.
Yik Yak is an interesting idea as a social network. Besides everything mentioned above, you can also associate your other social media accounts to it or chat privately with other users. Although the app is associated with sending messages or questions out into the universe, you can also add any images to your posts if you want. We don’t know how far this social network will make it in the rest of the world, but if you want it to keep growing, become a yakker and give it a chance.
Yik Yak for Android on Uptodown [APK] | Download
