FADE: Unlocked

The newest app to hit campus: FADE. An app that can only be unlocked if a school reaches a certain number of students with an account for the app. When asked how FADE has been received since PSU has had it, freshman Emma Dodds said, “It’s not that great so far. It’s honestly going to be hit or miss depending on how people use it. Once everyone gets used to it and understands how to use it, then it’ll be fun.” Before Plymouth State University was able to unlock it, FADE was rumored to be similar to that of Yik Yak, Instagram, and Snapchat. Now that it is unlocked, how similar are they really?

Yik Yak is an app that allows one to post anonymous thoughts. Unlike Yik Yak, this app is not anonymous: students can create a profile with a picture of themselves – or anything else – when they sign up for the app. Though users make a profile, freshman Mike McAloon said, “You get one anonymous post a day to post some crazy picture of a passed out friend or just something really funny you don’t want people knowing was you.” This is where the anonymity of Yik Yak is presented in this new app. Make sure to use the anonymous post carefully!

FADE is very similar to Instagram in the sense that it is all about pictures. In both apps students can comment on pictures and like or up vote them. McAloon said, “With there being a profile it makes the pictures posted a little more genuine.” If someone knows that everyone else will know it was him or her who posted it, he or she is more likely to think twice about what they post. The anonymous posts will leave people guessing who on earth posted it.         FADE has been compared to the ever popular Snapchat. The pictures one posts to FADE only last 24 hours: After that they disappear. Just like how on Snapchat, the pictures one sends only last for so many seconds before they are gone. If a picture is up voted it gains more time; however, if it is down voted, it loses time. This will keep the popular pictures on the sight for much longer. Posts could potentially last for days, or only a few hours. This enables more people to view the photo that their friends have been talking about; they have more time to get to the app and see what their fellow collegians have deemed funny, beautiful, or just interesting and worth seeing.

More and more apps seem to be coming out that resemble other apps. When Yik Yak first came out, it was like Twitter except anonymous; when Instagram came out it was similar to Facebook except without the statuses. Facebook can be seen as a combination of the two. Similar to how Facebook is a combination of apps, Dodds said, “[FADE is] like Snapchat, Yik Yak, and Instagram had a baby.” This sounds like the making of a very interesting app; now to see if stands the test of time.