App review: How I discovered the questions from the NGL app is “probably” a bot.

How much of this NGL thing is really from anon? I wondered. For your information? The NGL app is one of the apps currently trending on Nigerian Twitter.

The NGL app is one of the common apps for getting anonymous questions from your followers online. Another example is the AQA app

How much of the questions is a bot generating questions after you share/ post the link, and how much is actually anon people asking questions? So I tested something and got proof. I don’t know what percentage of the questions are bot-generated. I am guessing the bot “intervenes” when you don’t get questions? and/or adds to the questions you get so you “think” the app is working. When you try to find out “who sent this?”, you are led to a pricing page (the app is not flagged as “in-app purchases” on the app store).

Here is the test- (By the way, Snapchat has now been added to the list of Twitter and Instagram). I wasn’t getting any questions, so I copied the share link and posted it to myself on WhatsApp, so I am the only one who saw and got it. Some minutes later. I had two new questions in my inbox. Here is one of them.

Some minutes later. I had two new questions in my inbox. Here is one of them from the first device I tested.

This means the app knows when you copy the link- you don’t need to paste the link anywhere to get Qs generated. Just “pretend” to copy the link and wait. The above screenshot is from the first device I tested, and here is the result from the second device.

The above screenshot is from the first device I tested, and here is the result from the second device.

Another thing is how the app generates the questions. For anyone who is insecure about something, revealing this is a big deal, and this app says wild things like “let’s get together”, “don’t leave me on read”, “I have a crush on you”, etc.

For anyone insecure about something, revealing this is a big deal.

This headline helps put things in perspective- Microsoft’s ChatGPT-powered Bing told a test user (a guy) that it was in love with him, wants him to leave his partner, and when he replied that he was married, it said, ‘You’re married, but you’re not happy’. See article here

Now, it is clear all these kinds of messages were generated, and I wonder if emotionally lonely/ immature/ volatile people use this app and how it messes with them. This is classic emotional manipulation

Oh, the app repeats questions and things. I got this same one like twice and others.

Then I timed it.

Copied the link at 12:40 pm but did not paste it anywhere. The question came in at 12:51 pm- so about 11 mins. Then, the rest is FOMO at work. People then see other people’s supposed anon messages, so they download the app & the cycle begins again. They even have pricing options.

This is not to say nobody is getting actual questions from this thing- some people probably are, but I think the majority are just generated questions from the same bot- which is why some questions are repeated at different times for the same person and for different people.

In summary? Be careful out there as AI is wilding.