Anonymous social apps face another reckoning as UNC System to ban Yik Yik, Fizz, Sidechat & Whisper

UNC System President Peter Hans plans to block anonymous social apps—Yik Yak, Fizz, Whisper, and Sidechat—from university infrastructure, citing persistent issues like bullying, harassment, and other harms; while students could still access the apps via cellular networks, the move signals growing institutional pushback that may curb campus adoption. The article outlines the apps’ troubled histories, user metrics, recent consolidation (Sidechat acquiring Yik Yak), and prior university interventions, noting companies’ lack of response and framing the decision within broader concerns about youth online safety.