--- description: Secret app launches in China title: China: Secret App Launches With Unknown Backer image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3910f91d0786813f/698695c03bc9992b0d1a3de2/secret-app.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Secret Enters Chinese Market Days Before Tiananmen Anniversary by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2014 9:41 AM CUT  Chrys Bader-Wechseler, chief product officer and co-founder of Secret, speaks during a Bloomberg West Television interview in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Thursday, May 22, 2014. Chrys Bader-Wechseler, chief product officer and co-founder of Secret, speaks during a Bloomberg West Television interview in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Thursday, May 22, 2014.Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2014 9:41 AM CUT A smartphone application that allows users to share anonymous messages with those in their extended social networks launched in mainland China on Saturday, coming amid Beijing’s ongoing [crackdown](http://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1523693/google-services-partially-disrupted-china-ahead-tiananmen "undefined") on online dialogue ahead of the 25th [anniversary](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/world/asia/tiananmen-square-anniversary-prompts-campaign-of-silence.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") of the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4. The app, called Secret, recently went global after making waves in the U.S. as an online “burn book,” where individuals can post short statements without fear of being identified, and up-vote those posted by others. While the service initially established itself as a vehicle for gossip — a recent Daily Beast story described it as the “digital bathroom wall” for Washington, D.C.’s [gay community](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/31/secret-has-turned-d-c-into-mean-girls-the-app-bringing-out-the-best-worst-in-washington-s-gays.html "undefined") — it has now gained traction internationally as a voice for the otherwise voiceless. “I want to go to Ukraine and fight for Europe, but my wife won’t let me (and she’ll be right),” reads one post from Russia, where in recent weeks Secret has been among the country’s top 10 most-downloaded apps. TechCrunch [reported](http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/01/secret-in-china/ "undefined") that Secret had partnered with a “large Chinese gaming company” to enter the Chinese market, where other smartphone-based messaging services have been [restricted](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/28/china-restricts-smartphone-chat-apps "undefined") in a state effort to quash “rumors and infiltration of hostile forces.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2807945/secret-enters-chinese-market-days-before-tiananmen-anniversary/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2807945/secret-enters-chinese-market-days-before-tiananmen-anniversary/"},"headline":"Secret Enters Chinese Market Days Before Tiananmen Anniversary","datePublished":"2014-06-02T09:41:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:02:22.265Z","description":"Anonymous social-networking app may prove headache for Beijing authorities looking to keep a lid on dissent ahead of Wednesday's Tiananmen Square anniversary","url":"https://time.com/2807945/secret-enters-chinese-market-days-before-tiananmen-anniversary/","keywords":["Tech","apps","China","U.S.","Secrecy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3910f91d0786813f/698695c03bc9992b0d1a3de2/secret-app.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3910f91d0786813f/698695c03bc9992b0d1a3de2/secret-app.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Secret Co-Founders David Byttow And Chrys Bader-Wechseler Interview","caption":"Secret Co-Founders David Byttow And Chrys Bader-Wechseler Interview","creditText":"Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2807945/secret-enters-chinese-market-days-before-tiananmen-anniversary/","name":"Secret Enters Chinese Market Days Before Tiananmen Anniversary"}}]}] ```