Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Olivia Kantyka

After hitting the app store only 3 months ago, TBH, also known as To Be Honest, has reached the ranks as the sixth most popular app.

Source: Gearóid O’Rourke

During a time when negativity and cyber bullying have been brought to light in the media,TBH is doing something different. By focusing on a traditional polling system, the mobile app encourages users to add their friends, and answer questions about them. When users are selected as their friends’ top pick as a response to a question, users receive gems that can be used to unlock upgraded features.

After analyzing their target market of teens aged 13 years and up, TBH found that their prospective users used the acronym “TBH” on Instragram when complimenting a friend. And the teen market is growing. Snapchat has outranked Instagram and Facebook by an overwhelming 47% of the market as the preferred social media platform of choice.

Inc.com reported on the growing value of teens in the mobile app industry and found the following reasons:

Teens bring tech recommendations to their parents and hold elusive power to their purchase decisions.
Teens have technology built in their DNA — no learning curve.
According to the 2013 Pew Research survey, 25% of teens use their phones first to go online.

So what are teens looking for in mobile apps? Authenticity, creativity, and personalization are key. Take a look at some of TBH’s screenshots from the App Store.

Source: App StoreSource: App Store

With funky bright colors of purple, pink and blue, TBH has done its research. With a clean, simplistic look of brief questions, minimal features, and card format, the app doesn’t sugar coat multiple layers of confusion. The graphics make the app lighthearted and its color palette continue the theme of positivity. With user reviews rolling in, many have sung their praises.

I absolutely love this app! Not only is it fun, it raises your self esteem, self confidence, and also makes you feel better about yourself and others. — Gourge Hickie

There’s room for improvement with other users giving their recommendations for updates.

I understand it’s in its early stages but maybe the devs could add a community feature like allowing people to submit questions that get voted on by other people and then the question is added into the app officially. Community is important. — Pickaxman001

With such an overwhelmingly positive response in its first 3 months of release, TBH is hitting part of the teen market that has been a gaping hole for mobile apps. With a majority of social media apps catering to an “older” scene, teens are playing an increasing role in tech purchases and app usage. Facebook has made a wise decision in its next acquisition. With TBH’s office moving into Facebook’s space, this app is worthy of putting on your watch list.

Why Facebook’s Acquisition of TBH Is A Wise Choice was originally published in Prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Why Facebook’s Acquisition of TBH Is A Wise Choice

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