Every once in a while an idea comes into play that is so simple you wish you would have thought of it. SnapChat has been making headlines as one of the fastest growing networks among tweens and teens, and equating a recently rejected offer of $3 Billion to buy the company.
I personally don't "get" the allure of Snapchat, but my younger MarketMeSuite team members assure me it's "really cool." Yesterday, while scrolling my newsfeed I saw a new app launch that made me stand up and take notice...
Confide -- it's like Snapchat for grownups. More specifically, for business execs.
Here's the skinny: Confide allows you to send emails to people through your iphone, totally encrypted, and only able to be seen once. There's added security that the text is actually blocked out and you have to run your finger over it to reveal the text underneath. There is no way to take a screenshot. You can never go back to the message once you open it. Seeing the Snapchat parallel?
But, it seems they take security a bit more seriously at Confide. According to the company there is end to end encryption so only the sender and the receiver can read the message. Even they can't see what you send. In the company's own words:
"Spoken words disappear after they're heard. But what you say online remains forever. With confidential messages that self-destruct, Confide takes you off the record."
Why Was Confide Created?
The app is the brainchild of Former AOL Exec and Patch.com founder, Jon Brod, and Yext co-founder Howard Lerman and entrepreneur Dan Suter. The idea for the app came about when Brod and Lerman played phone tag when trying to discuss a recommendation for a potential new hire for Lerman. The men didn't want a digital record of their conversation but it took six days to finally connect by phone.
How Do You Get It?
To try it, you download Confide for free in the apple store, at which point you are prompted to add your email address and connect your email contacts and Facebook contacts, with assurances that Confide will never post on your Facebook wall, etc. (That would kind of defeat the purpose.)
What Do You Think?
Is this one of those simple yet brilliant ideas that is going to catch on like Snapchat? Would you use it?