<s>
Secret	O
was	O
an	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
app	O
service	O
that	O
allowed	O
people	O
to	O
share	O
messages	O
anonymously	O
within	O
their	O
circle	O
of	O
friends	O
,	O
friends	O
of	O
friends	O
,	O
and	O
publicly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
differs	O
from	O
other	O
anonymous	O
sharing	O
apps	O
such	O
as	O
PostSecret	O
,	O
Whisper	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Yik	B-Application
Yak	I-Application
in	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
intended	O
for	O
sharing	O
primarily	O
with	O
friends	O
,	O
potentially	O
making	O
it	O
more	O
interesting	O
and	O
addictive	O
for	O
people	O
reading	O
the	O
updates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
founded	O
by	O
David	O
Byttow	O
,	O
the	O
former	O
lead	O
for	O
Square	O
Wallet	O
,	O
and	O
Chrys	O
Bader-Wechseler	O
,	O
a	O
former	O
Google	B-Application
product	O
manager	O
at	O
Google+	O
,	O
Photovine	O
and	O
YouTube	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
started	O
receiving	O
press	O
coverage	O
in	O
early	O
February	O
2014	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
was	O
revealed	O
that	O
the	O
company	O
had	O
raised	O
$1.4	O
million	O
from	O
Kleiner	O
Perkins	O
Caufield	O
&	O
Byers	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Ventures	O
,	O
Alexis	O
Ohanian	O
and	O
Garry	O
Tan	O
through	O
their	O
Initialized	O
Capital	O
vehicle	O
,	O
Index	O
Ventures	O
,	O
Matrix	O
Partners	O
,	O
SV	O
Angel	O
,	O
and	O
Fuel	O
Capital	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
False	O
rumors	O
about	O
an	O
impending	O
acquisition	O
of	O
Evernote	B-Application
were	O
circulated	O
via	O
Secret	O
in	O
early	O
February	O
2014	O
.	O
Business	O
Insider	O
reported	O
rumors	O
(	O
circulated	O
on	O
Secret	O
)	O
that	O
Secret	O
was	O
about	O
to	O
acquire	O
Whisper	B-Application
,	O
another	O
anonymous	O
sharing	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
21	O
,	O
Secret	O
became	O
available	O
globally	O
and	O
also	O
launched	O
on	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
18	O
,	O
2014	O
a	O
Brazilian	O
court	O
granted	O
a	O
preliminary	O
injunction	O
to	O
a	O
public	O
prosecutor	O
that	O
prohibits	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
Apple	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
from	O
distributing	O
the	O
app	O
and	O
also	O
compels	O
the	O
three	O
companies	O
to	O
remotely	O
delete	O
the	O
app	O
on	O
users	O
 '	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
Brazilian	O
courts	O
hearing	O
,	O
the	O
developers	O
included	O
new	O
features	O
for	O
both	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
versions	O
of	O
the	O
app	O
aimed	O
at	O
safeguarding	O
user	O
privacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
announced	O
it	O
would	O
launch	O
a	O
faster	O
2.0	O
version	O
with	O
new	O
chat	B-Protocol
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
revealed	O
that	O
Secret	O
Dens	O
were	O
being	O
used	O
extensively	O
internally	O
at	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Twitter	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	O
was	O
removed	O
from	O
the	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
stores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technology	O
commentators	O
likened	O
Secret	O
to	O
the	O
shuttered	O
app	O
PostSecret	O
and	O
the	O
app	O
Whisper	B-Application
,	O
all	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
growing	O
trend	O
towards	O
anonymous	O
and	O
quasi-anonymous	O
sharing	O
,	O
a	O
pushback	O
against	O
Facebook	B-Application
's	O
successful	O
push	O
to	O
encourage	O
real	O
name	O
use	O
throughout	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Issie	O
Lapowsky	O
,	O
writing	O
for	O
Wired	O
Magazine	O
,	O
noted	O
:	O
"	O
founder	O
David	O
Byttow	O
seems	O
to	O
have	O
realized	O
what	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
us	O
have	O
known	O
all	O
along	O
:	O
anonymity	O
makes	O
people	O
into	O
total	O
assholes	O
"	O
but	O
later	O
in	O
the	O
article	O
questioned	O
whether	O
,	O
if	O
Secret	O
had	O
enjoyed	O
the	O
traction	O
that	O
competitor	O
Yik	B-Application
Yak	I-Application
had	O
,	O
Byttow	O
would	O
still	O
shut	O
the	O
company	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
