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Frankly Launches with $6M Funding

2013-09-24
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Next generation texting app that empowers people to speak freely and anonymously, officially launched today, and announced a $6 million Series A funding.
Frankly, a next generation texting app that empowers people to speak freely and anonymously, officially launched today for iOS and Android devices. Frankly's free app deletes messages and photos immediately after friends read them, so every conversation is a clean slate and everything sent stays between the sender and their friends. This allows people to focus on the moment, have fun, and say what they really think without the worry that messages will be taken out of context later or have unintended consequences.

The company has also announced $6 million in Series A funding from SK Planet and angel investors.

'There are very few digital places where people can speak honestly and openly without every word being recorded and saved,' said Steve Chung, CEO of Frankly. 'Frankly is the closest that someone can come to having a private, in-person conversation in the digital world. We want our app to help users break free from the shackles of superficial and over-edited digital conversations, and thus spark more frequent, frank and intimate conversation with their friends.'

Frankly works just like standard texting and photo messaging, however, the message disappears completely after the recipient views it. Here's how it works:

Messages and photos that are sent through Frankly are encrypted and visually obscured, and recipients must click on the message for it to be readable. Once read, the message disappears after a 10-second countdown. When the message is gone, it's gone forever from Frankly's servers.

The camera view and keyboard can be opened at the same time, making sure people never miss a rapid fire camera snap and a witty remark to capture the moment.

Friends can chat anonymously, one-on-one, or within groups. The app doesn't display names on the screen in the chat session, so the author of any specific message is hidden to recipients. This also preserves 'plausible deniability' for any messages, even with screenshots and nosey friends looking over your shoulders.

Users have the ability to unsend any unread messages without a trace, freeing the current conversation from old, irrelevant messages and letting the user be in control at all times.

'In an environment of mass sharing, persistent digital storage, and the carefully curated self-image, Frankly swings the pendulum of conversation back to the real you,' continued Chung. 'Messages on our server are never saved and only stored long enough to deliver them to the intended recipient, allowing people to let their guard down and speak freely, and frankly, without the fear of documentation or misuse.'

People can download Frankly here:

iOS: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id649230807
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chatfrankly.android

About Frankly
Frankly is a next generation texting app that empowers people to speak freely and anonymously, allowing them to be their unedited self. Available for free on iOS and Android devices, Frankly deletes messages and photos immediately after friends read them, so every conversation is a clean slate and everything sent stays between you and your friends. For more information about Frankly, visit www.chatfrankly.com.
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