A user can send a private message (called a ‘Tell’) to another person in the app. If that person decides to reply to the Tell, both the original message and the reply are posted on that person’s user profile. Tells are anonymous by default but a user can choose to display their username with the Tell. People can pay to subscribe to ‘Tellonym Plus’ to customise their profile, see hints about who has sent them a Tell and to use Tellonym without adverts. Users can also share their Tells on other social networks such as Snapchat and Instagram.
Tellonym does offer parental controls and safety settings. Users can prevent the app from sharing their location or showing when they are online and stop other users finding them by their phone number. They can also set filters to block inappropriate messages. Users can also turn off personalised advertising. Parents can modify their child’s safety settings by accessing the app through their child’s phone, selecting the settings they require and then adding a protection code to prevent their child from being able to change those settings.
