NGL Hits 15M Installs as Parents Warned About Anonymous Apps
United States – October 19, 2026 -- The anonymous messaging app NGL has passed 15 million installs in recent weeks, and a child-safety advisory now urges parents to keep their kids away from such apps.
Anonymous messages have been linked to teen deaths
These apps let users message others without revealing who they are. The advisory says that ability is exploited by people who want to cyberbully, defraud, or molest.
Sixteen-year-old Carson Bride died by suicide on June 23, 2020. Between January 23 and June 22, 2020, he received 105 messages through YOLO, an app for sending anonymous messages on Snapchat. Most were severe harassment, often sexually explicit and threatening. Evidence indicates he tried several times to identify the senders, and his final phone search was for a way to reveal the YOLO username.