Jane’s villain of the fortnight

Is it a desert? Is it a woman’s name typed with clumsy fingers? No, it’s a new app that lets people (including children) post comments to each other – anonymously and for free. I can hardly think of a better gift for bullies.

Sarahah ( www.snipca.com/25495), whose name comes from the Arabic for honesty, claims it encourages “constructive criticism”. Yeah, right. My schooldays are a blur, but I do remember there was little ‘constructive criticism’ going on in the playground. We didn’t pass notes assessing each other’s intellectual skills. We passed notes about each other’s spots, sexuality and stupidity – and that was to our friends. It was terrible, but at least it was years before kids all had smartphones and apps like Sarahah.

Child-protection campaigners have warned parents and grandparents to look out for Sarahah. But bullying is not confined to kids. Workplace bullies, stalkers and anyone out to make someone’s life a misery will seize upon this app as a trolling tool. Its attempt to paint itself as constructive is disingenuous at best.