Fizz: Another Anonymous App Parents Need to Know About
Fizz: Another Anonymous App Parents Need to Know About
I remember talking with parents about Yik Yak about ten years ago. At the time, one of the big concerns was that the app connected users to a school or local community and allowed people to post anonymously about that community. That combination created a predictable problem. Immaturity, inappropriate posts, bullying, harassment, rumors, threats, and school disruption followed. There were also reports connecting anonymous harassment on platforms like Yik Yak to serious emotional distress among students. Eventually, Yik Yak shut down in 2017 after a decline in popularity.
In March of 2023, a competing app called Sidechat bought Yik Yak and brought it back to the app stores. I have not heard as much about Yik Yak since its return, but another app seems to have moved into that anonymous, school-based social media space. That app is called Fizz. Fizz is a social media app that connects users to a school community, usually a college or high school, through school-based verification. The app promotes ideas like “be curious,” “be there,” “be honest,” “be brave,” and “be supportive.” On its safety page, Fizz says it is “a space designed for every user to be their authentic self” and that “user safety and privacy is the core of all we do.”
That sounds positive, but we have to pay attention to the design. When an app creates a private school-based community where students can discuss people, events, rumors, relationships, social status, parties, teachers, and classmates with some level of anonymity, we should not be surprised when problems show up. Yik Yak already taught us this. So did Formspring, Ask.fm, Whisper, Sarahah, After School, Tellonym, NGL, Sendit, LMK, TBH, GAS, Omegle, Monkey, and others. Many of these apps came and went with controversy around bullying, harassment, predation, anonymous cruelty, and the social pressure that comes when kids feel like everyone is talking about them.
Now Fizz enters the ring, and parents need to be aware of it. According to the Apple App Store, Fizz is rated 18+. That matters. If high school students are using an app that is rated for adults, parents should not treat it like just another harmless school chat app. I am not recommending that high school students use Fizz. The rating alone should cause parents to pause, ask questions, and consider whether this is an appropriate space for teenagers.
A New York Post article reported on problems at Champlain Valley Union High School in Vermont, where students used Fizz to post about classmates, disabilities, sexual orientation, parties, alleged drug or alcohol use, and rumors involving teachers and staff. The article also described students checking the app constantly to see if their names were mentioned, with some students becoming visibly upset over what was being posted. That is the part that concerns me most. These apps do not just live on the phone. They move into hallways, cafeterias, classrooms, friend groups, athletic teams, and family conversations. A post may be anonymous, but the impact is very personal.
Parents, here are five things you can start doing today.
1. Find out if your child knows about Fizz
You do not have to start with a lecture. Start with curiosity. Ask your child if they have heard of Fizz, if kids at their school are using it, what kinds of things people are posting, and whether anyone has been hurt by it yet. Your child may know more than you think. Even if they are not using the app, they may know who is being talked about, what groups are using it, and whether it is becoming a problem at school.
2. Make the 18+ rating part of the conversation
This is not just a parent being dramatic. The app is rated 18+ in the Apple App Store. That is important information for parents and students. You can say something like, “I’m not comfortable with high school students using an app that is rated for adults, especially one connected to school rumors, anonymous posts, and peer drama.” That gives you a clearer boundary. You are not just saying, “I don’t like this app.” You are saying, “This app is not designed for your age group, and the risks are already showing up in schools.”
3. Talk about anonymity before there is a problem
Kids need to understand that anonymity does not remove responsibility. Anonymous posting can make people feel bold, funny, powerful, or untouchable. But what feels like a joke to the person posting can feel humiliating or devastating to the person being posted about. Parents can ask simple questions like, “Would you say it if your name was attached to it?” “Would you be okay if someone posted that about you?” “Could this hurt someone’s reputation, friendships, mental health, or safety?” Kids need adults to slow down the moment between impulse and posting.
4. Watch for signs that the app is affecting your child
A student does not have to be the one posting to be affected by the app. They may be reading posts, checking constantly, worrying their name will come up, or watching someone else get targeted. Parents should watch for changes like pulling away from school or friends, suddenly not wanting to attend school, checking the phone more often than usual, mood changes after being online, fear that people are talking about them, increased anxiety about social situations, or not wanting to explain what is happening. If you see those signs, do not just focus on the phone. Ask what is happening socially.
5. Give your child a plan before something happens
Kids often do not know what to do when they see cruelty online. They may freeze, laugh along, share it, or stay silent because they do not want to become the next target. Give them a simple plan before something happens. Tell them not to repost it, not to pile on, to screenshot it if someone is being harmed, to tell a trusted adult, to check on the person being targeted, and to report it to the school if it involves students, staff, threats, harassment, or sexual rumors. We have to teach kids that digital citizenship is not just about what they post. It is also about what they tolerate, share, laugh at, and ignore.
Fizz may be new to many parents, but the pattern is not new. Anonymous school-based apps create real risks because they attach online behavior to real-life communities. When kids can post about classmates, teachers, relationships, bodies, parties, sexuality, rumors, and reputations without their name attached, harm can happen quickly. Parents do not need to panic, but we do need to pay attention. Ask about it. Set boundaries. Know the age rating. Watch for signs of distress. And remind your child that what happens online does not stay online when the whole school is watching.
Stay connected.
~Ryan