Whisper (app)

Not to be confused with Open Whisper Systems, an open-source software group.

Whisper
Developer(s)WhisperText LLC
Initial releaseMarch 31, 2012 (2012-03-31)
Stable release(s) [±]
Android9.58.0 / May 18, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-05-18)[1]
iOS8.38.0 / May 10, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-05-10)[2]
Operating systemiOS
TypeSocial Networking
LicenseProprietary
Websitewhisper.sh Edit this on Wikidata
Whisper
IndustrySoftware
Headquarters
Venice, California[3]
,
United States
OwnersBrad Brooks, Michael Heyward
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Whisper is a proprietary mobile app available without charge. It is a form of anonymous social media, allowing users to post and share photo and video messages anonymously,[4][5] although this claim has been challenged with privacy concerns over Whisper's handling of user data.[6] The postings, called "whispers", consist of text superimposed over an image, and the background imagery is either automatically retrieved from Whisper's search engine or uploaded by the user.[7][8][9] The app, launched in March 2012, is the main product of the media company WhisperText LLC, which was co-founded by CEO Michael Heyward, the son of the entertainment executive Andy Heyward,[10] and Brad Brooks, who is the CEO of mobile messaging service TigerText. Since 2015, the service has sought to become more of a brand advertising platform, with promotional partnerships with Netflix,[11] NBCUniversal,[12] Disney,[13] HBO,[14] and MTV.[15] According to TechCrunch, as of March 2017, Whisper has a total of 17 billion monthly pageviews on its mobile and desktop websites, social channels and publisher network, with 250 million monthly users across 187 countries.[16] It is owned by MediaLab.[17] In October 2022, Whisper was removed from the Apple App Store, and was added to the App Store again but was removed in 2023 again temporarily, but was recently restored to iOS in March of 2024. Whisper was again removed from the IOS App store and as off October 2024 is still not listed as an app.[citation needed] In September 2024 the app was removed from the Google Play Store [18] and no longer works on Android devices. Whisper never made a statement about the removal of support for Android.

  1. ^ "Whisper". Google Play. Google.
  2. ^ "Whisper". App Store. Apple Inc.
  3. ^ "Snap's IPO may make Silicon Beach a worthy Silicon Valley rival". January 7, 2017. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  4. ^ Lawler, Ryan (May 16, 2013). "Now With More Than 1.5B Page Views A Month, Secret Sharing App Whisper Launches On Android". TechCrunch. San Francisco, California. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  5. ^ Geron, Tomio (June 24, 2013). "The Return Of The Anonymous Social Web". Forbes. New York, New York. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference guardian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Gannes, Liz (September 5, 2013). "Why Should You Care About Whisper, the Secret-Sharing App That VCs Are Pouring Money Into?". All Things D. San Francisco, California. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  8. ^ "Creating a Whisper for iPhone". Whisper Customer Portal. Los Angeles, CA. January 7, 2016. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  9. ^ "Creating a Whisper for Android". Whisper Customer Portal. Los Angeles, CA. January 7, 2016. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  10. ^ Paternie, Patrick C. (August 14, 2005). "Bernie's Boy Wonder: Is this 18-year-old California high school student the most influential American in F1". Autoweek. Detroit, MI. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  11. ^ Shaw, Lucas (May 12, 2017). "Secret Confessions Can Make Money, Message App Whisper Contends". Bloomberg. New York, NY. Archived from the original on May 12, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  12. ^ Jarvey, Natalie (September 1, 2015). "Whisper Hires Entertainment Veteran to Lead Sales Efforts (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  13. ^ Johnson, Lauren (December 4, 2015). "Hollywood Is Getting Stealthier at Advertising With Mobile Messaging Apps: Disney/Pixar's Whisper campaign shows potential". Adweek. New York, NY. Archived from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  14. ^ Sloane, Garrett (February 13, 2017). "HBO's Whisper Ad Campaign Asks People to Confess 'Big Little Lies'". AdAge. Detroit, MI. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  15. ^ Heine, Christopher (September 14, 2015). "Here's How Social App Whisper Has Quietly Become a Marketing Force". Adweek. New York, New York. Archived from the original on September 18, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  16. ^ Shieber, Jonathan (March 13, 2017). "Whisper launches new tool to automate article creation from its user-generated content". TechCrunch. San Francisco, CA. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  17. ^ "MediaLab". www.media-lab.ai. Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  18. ^ "I contacted support and got this". September 20, 2024.