Discord to Shut Down Anonymous Compliments App Gas in November

Discord has decided to shut down Gas, the anonymous compliments-based social media app it acquired earlier this year in January. The app will officially cease to operate on November 7, according to confirmation from Discord. Discord stated that it acquired Gas with the intention of supporting its efforts to grow across various audiences and make Discord the best place for online interaction. Discord CEO Jason Citron revealed that the main reason for acquiring Gas was to gain access to its engineering talent, as mentioned in an internal memo seen by The Information.

Gas, which was launched in August 2022, quickly gained popularity among teenagers due to its focus on providing a positive social media experience. The app achieved one million daily active users within two months, even surpassing apps like TikTok and others in the Apple App Store rankings in October and November 2022. Global downloads for Gas reached seven million since its launch, peaking in November 2022 with 3.1 million downloads. However, its growth began to slow down, with only 2,900 downloads in the past month.

The app primarily targeted high school students, enabling users to answer polls about their classmates, with questions designed to boost confidence rather than harm it. The app's premise was built on promoting positivity, which set it apart from traditional social media platforms.

Gas was founded by Nikita Bier, who was also behind TBH, another anonymous social app aimed at high school students. Facebook acquired TBH in 2017 but shut it down the following year due to low usage.

Nikita Bier, the founder of both TBH and Gas, has hinted at the possibility of launching another app in the near future, further adding to the intrigue surrounding the future of anonymous social platforms.