It’s announced! Discord acquires Gas. It’s a platform that is popular among teenagers for its positive approach to social media. On Gas, individuals register using their school information, add friends, and participate in polls about their classmates.
These polls are designed to boost users’ self-esteem rather than harm it. For example, teens may be asked to select which of their friends is the best DJ or has the best smile, and then the person chosen will receive an anonymous message with a compliment, sent from someone like “boy in 10th grade” or “girl in 11th grade”.
Nikita Bier, the founder of Gas, had previously sold a similar app called tbh to Facebook in 2017, although tbh has since been discontinued. According to Sensor Tower, Gas has achieved 7.4 million downloads and nearly $7 million in consumer spending since its launch in the summer of 2022.
A paid feature called “God Mode” is available for users, providing them with clues about the identity of their anonymous complimenters.
“At this time, Gas will continue as its own standalone app and the Gas team will be joining Discord to help our efforts to continue to grow across new and core audiences,” Discord told in its blog post.
Four people (1 ceo, 2 engineers, 1 community manager)
— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) October 21, 2022
Discord acquires Gas: Details of the deal are still unknown
Today, we’re excited to share that Discord is acquiring Gas, the popular poll-based social app that lets friends share compliments with one another. Gas is all about uplifting and empowering each other through positive affirmations. Its tremendous success shows the opportunity that exists in creating a playful yet meaningful place for young people. Gas’ founders have a proven track record of creating exciting apps and experiences, and we’re thrilled to work with their team to take things to the next level.
-Discord
Despite the rapid rise in popularity of Gas, the app has faced several challenges leading up to its acquisition by Discord. An unfounded rumor that the app was being used for sex trafficking caused a decline in downloads. Bier, the founder, stated to the Washington Post that he and his team received hundreds of death threats as a result of this rumor. Other viral social apps such as IRL and WalkSafe have also faced similar false accusations of trafficking.
Gas is among a group of anonymous apps, some centered around giving compliments and others not, that have recently gained popularity. However, it’s discovered that apps like NGL and Sendit were using bots to mimic user engagement. Similar to Gas, these apps allow users to pay for the ability to see who asked questions. Understandably, some users felt misled when it was revealed that these questions were not actually from their friends. Additionally, 9count, the company that created Spark and Summer, is currently developing a product similar to Gas called nocapp.
Discord recently announced that it would integrate a number of apps into its servers, despite the fact that it will continue to operate Gas as a standalone product for the time being. Therefore, it’s feasible that these favorable community surveys will eventually appear on the messaging platform.
“We’re always working to create an inclusive world where no one feels like an outsider and we’re excited to welcome Gas to the Discord community as our next step to fulfilling that vision,” Discord stated.
In August 2022, Discord announced a cheaper plan called Nitro Basic.
