Anonymous app Secret denies it's closing down

Struggling anonymous messaging app Secret is not closing down its key app and "pivoting," the company's CEO has told TechCrunch. Secret saw a flurry of attention in 2014 during a media craze for anonymous apps, but since then it has plummeted down the App Store rankings.

We'd previously heard from sources that the company was thinking hard about its future, and was considering pivoting to become a startup incubator to work out a new direction. CEO David Byttow now says that they "do not have plans to shut down Secret, the app, or pivot Secret the company into an incubator."

It is, however working on a number of new apps: "We're working on a couple of new things, and I couldn't be more excited to share them when they're ready," Byttow says.

One of these is is Secret Dens, an enterprise app that lets users share anonymous messages in the workplace. According to TechCrunch, it's being trialed in the offices of Google, Twitter and Facebook.

Secret has had a turbulent year. After initial success and a $25 million series B funding round in July, its popularity waned dramatically. In January 2015, cofounder Chrys Bader-Wechseler then left the company, with one source telling us that he and Byttow had "different visions for how to save Secret." A top engineer has also jumped ship this month for Periscope, Twitter's new streaming app.