Discord, a chat service, recently disclosed that it has purchased Gas, a popular app among teenagers for its upbeat take on social media.
Users of Gas register with their institution, add friends, and participate in surveys on their classmates. The poll questions, however, are intended to boost users’ confidence rather than damage it. Teenagers can be tasked with selecting which of four buddies has the nicest smile or is the best DJ. The chosen individual will then receive an anonymous message with a complement from an ambiguous “boy in 10th grade” or “girl in 11th grade” sender.
Nikita Bier, the creator of the app Gas, previously sold a similar one called tbh to Facebook in 2017. Tbh has since been discontinued.
Since its inception in the summer of 2022, Gas has had 7.4 million installations and approximately $7 million in user spending, according to statistics from Sensor Tower. A premium option called “God Mode,” which provides users with suggestions about who their secret flatterers are, is available to users.
In a statement, Discord stated that Gas will “currently continue as its own standalone app” and that the Gas team would “join Discord to help our efforts to continue to develop across new and core audiences.” Bier said that Gas has four team members as of October.
Gas has had a bumpy exit, despite its rapid rise to popularity. The app was the subject of a popular sex-trafficking rumour, which was absolutely false but had an impact on downloads. As a result of this hoax, Bier informed the Washington Post that he and his crew got hundreds of violent death threats. IRL and WalkSafe, two other popular social media apps, have also been accused of human trafficking without evidence.
One of the anonymous apps that have gained popularity recently is Gas. Others are based on praises, while others are not. TechCrunch discovered, however, that apps like NGL and Sendit were simulating engagement with bots. These apps let users pay to see who asked inquiries in a similar way to Gas.
When it was discovered that these questions hadn’t actually come from their friends, some customers understandably felt scammed. In the meantime, 9count, the business behind Spark and Summer, is developing a product called nocapp that is comparable to Gas.
Discord recently announced that it would integrate a number of apps into its servers, despite the fact that it will continue to operate Gas as a standalone product for the time being. Therefore, it’s feasible that these favourable community surveys will eventually appear on the messaging platform.
The announcement from Discord stated, “We’re always working to create an inclusive world where no one feels like an outcast. We’re thrilled to welcome Gas to the Discord community as our next step to achieve that vision.”
Discord has not revealed the financial details of its acquisition of Gas.
