Nikita Via, creator of popular apps like anonymous voting app tbh (acquired by Facebook) and anonymous flattery app Gas (acquired by Discord), has created a new app called Explode that focuses on deleting messages in iMessage. I did.
Explode acts as a mini-app for Apple's Messages app. It will help you send the disappeared message to others. Users see text or images once and it explodes. The app also blocks users from taking screenshots. Beer said in a post on X that only the sender needs to have the Explode app.
The app is free to download, but users can sign up for Explode+ for $39.99 per year or $7.99 per month to unlock all features. Paid users receive screenshot alerts and can block screenshots completely, play previously sent photos, and lock the view of photos after they've been sent.
Hey everyone, I'm excited to announce my latest app.
Introducing Explode
· Send missing texts and photos within iMessage
· Only the sender needs the app: drop directly into the chat
· Screenshots are also blocked
Why was it built? Explode is a malicious app. Yes, and… pic.twitter.com/mGwmoN28T8
— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) January 14, 2025
Bier's post on Explode in X leans heavily towards digging into Snapchat. In his post, he said that after discussions with Snap about acquiring Gas, the social media company kicked Gas out of the SnapKit developer platform.
“Two years ago, I met with the CEO of Snapchat to discuss the acquisition of my previous company. We openly shared how quickly we were growing. Just a week later, during the Thanksgiving break, , Snapchat removed our app from the SnapKit platform and our growth suddenly stopped,” he said.
Snap sent an email to developers stating that Gas was using URL attachments to make friend recommendations without the express intent of the sender, according to email screenshots seen by TechCrunch. Ta. Snap believed this was a violation of its policies and tried to recreate Snap's functionality. Beer said Gus operates based on contacts and does not rely on Snap's social graph.
But Snap was the app's main growth driver. Beer said in an October 2022 post that 23% of Snapchat's U.S. user base viewed Gus's article. He said the ability to share Gas polls on Snapchat was placed as the primary button on the app, and that Snap's actions caused the app to stop working for seven days.
Gas app interface Image credit: Nikita Bier
Snapp did not immediately comment on the matter. Discord ultimately acquired Gas in January 2023 and shut it down in November 2023.
At the moment, the app is only available in the United States and countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, United States, France, Germany, and Italy.