Auckland school bans anonymous messaging app

The app has been banned after students reported problems with bullying. Photo / Getty Images

An Auckland girls' school has banned an anonymous messaging app, after students reported problems with bullying and nasty comments.

Diocesan School for Girls has blacked Yik Yak, an app that allows users to view and comment on posts of users near them, blocking it for students while they are on school grounds.

HAVE YOU HAD PROBLEMS WITH YIK YAK? CONTACT THE HERALD HERE

Parents have also been warned of its dangers through newsletters and information programmes.

"We're delighted our girls identified Yik Yak as an issue," said principal Heather McRae. "We teach them the values you have as a person should be the values you have online."

The school took action after the app went viral within one day, with hundreds of students downloading it to their smartphones.

It allows students to post comment anonymously, like a giant message board. Only those in a 16km radius can see what's happening, and are able to either "up vote" or "down vote" comments. If a comment, or "yak" gets many upvotes, it gets a high score, rewarding the user with "yakarma". Messages can also be commented on, starting a thread of conversation.

At Diocesan, students noticed nasty comments about both students inside the school and other schools in the area.

Ms McRae said when the school investigated, it found the app had caused issues in schools overseas as well.

Its anonymity made it a perfect app for bullying, she said.

What is Yik Yak?

An anoymous social media app that allows people to make posts and comment on others' posts within a 16km radius.

Posts can be "up voted" or "down voted" giving users a success rating

It was released in 2013 and has received negative feedback in the United States, where it was criticised for contributing to bullying and harassment in schools