Yik Yak
By Caretaker
Yik Yak was an anonymous, location-based messaging app launched in 2013 by Furman University students Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington. Posts were visible to anyone within a five-mile radius, and it exploded across US college campuses, raising $73.4 million at a valuation near $400 million. Anonymity bred harassment, threats, and even bomb threats, so in 2016 the company forced users onto named handles to curb the abuse. Users revolted, downloads fell 76 percent, and the app shut down in April 2017 when Square bought its IP for $1 million.
Cause of Death
Poor execution
Contributor explanation
Killed its own core feature trying to fix abuse
Final Lesson
Anonymity was the product. When abuse forced Yik Yak to remove it, there was nothing left worth using. Moderate the community without destroying the reason it exists.