(NaturalNews) A wildly popular smartphone app that at its peak had about 15 million active users has been pulled from Apple, Google and Microsoft platforms -- and its founders say the app itself is now officially going kaput -- following a torrid legal battle that brought to light the fact that the controversial app was being used for social media bullying.

Known as "Secret," the app allowed users to post anonymous messages within their contact groups about what was really on their minds, without being personally identified. It was apparently meant to be an innovative way to open up new lines of anonymous communication, which is typically when individuals are the most honest.

But some Secret users were apparently bullying others through the app, and a lawsuit filed in Brazil resulted in a preliminary injunction in which the app was removed from all the popular smartphone app stores. Not long after this hearing, the app's creators tried to add new privacy tools disallowing users from posting photos taken before the app was installed, as well as a new screening process -- but this apparently wasn't enough.

"This has been the hardest decision of my life and one that saddens me deeply," wrote David Byttow, one of the minds behind the Secret project, in a recent blog post on Medium announcing the app's gradual phase-out. "I believe in honest, open communication and creative expression, and anonymity is a great device to achieve it. But it's also the ultimate double-edged sword, which must be wielded with great respect and care."

Wikipedia bullies editors who hold unpopular views that contradict the establishment narrative

Despite having faced vigorous competition from rival apps like YikYak and Whisper, which have similar functionalities, Secret had gained a considerable following and was estimated to have been worth about $100 million. And the investors who funded the project will reportedly be given their money back, as Byttow believes this is the most appropriate way to deal with the situation.

"Secret, Inc. still has a significant amount of invested capital, but our investors funded the team and the product, and I believe the right thing to do is to return the money rather than attempt to pivot," explained Byttow. "Innovation requires failure, and I believe in failing fast in order to go on and make only new and different mistakes."

You can read Byttow's full announcement here:
Medium.com.

This is an honorable move, and something that the popular website Wikipedia might also want to consider, as it, too, is often used as a bullying platform. Wikipedia page entries that deal with "alternative" medicine, chiropractic and other topics that the establishment abhors are routinely vandalized and used to deceive and misinform rather than impart unbiased knowledge.

Wikipedia editors who hold unpopular views on other sensitive subjects such as 9/11 truth and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, for instance, are also routinely bullied and even banned from the site. One man by the name of Rome Viharo tells his story about being bullied by Wikipedia in a report published at Sott.net, explaining the following:

"Harassment and bullying may be a disruptive annoyance on Facebook or discussion forums, but in an online collaborative environment its [sic] poisonous to consensus building," wrote Viharo, noting how his unpopular editorial contributions to Wikipedia resulted in his malicious branding as a "fringe" promoter, a conspiracy theorist, a charlatan for "pseudoscience" and an internet troll with "an anti-social personality disorder."

You can read his full story here:
Sott.net.

Sources for this article include:

https://medium.com

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

http://www.sott.net

https://www.kickstarter.com