How to use NGL to send anonymous questions on Instagram

You may not know the app's official name, but you've definitely seen someone using it. ngl our Instagram Stories. In the last two weeks, this has become a real trend and on the Google Play Store alone, the idea of ​​a small team of developers in California has been installed more than 10 million times on devices that run Android. In App Store, there are over 93 reviews and an average of 4,8 stars.

But is the app really safe? And what is done about possible messages with hate speech? With a focus on answering these and more questions about one of the apps of the moment, we developed this special article. See if it's worth using right now!

How does NGL work?

Released in December 2021 by a team of US developers wishing to remain anonymous, the ngl is an application that allows its users to receive anonymous questions on Instagram by sharing their own link in Stories. To do this, simply copy the link from your account and then use the sticker that takes you to a special page. ngl is the acronym for “Not Gonna Lie", which can be translated as "I will not lie".

Despite being available for download since the end of last year, the ngl began to gain visibility after being widely used by residents of the India e Indonesia, essential to the success of an application. In fact, much of the news from the WhatsApp are first released to users in India as a form of testing before the rest of the world has access to the new features.

Back to ngl, the app is currently in the top 10 most downloaded apps on the US App Store and the same on the Google Play Store. data of Tower Sensor, an online tool that analyzes applications of all types, point out that the large audience of ngl and from Indonesia, corresponding to 3,1 million installations (83% of them made via Google Play).

The application is available for smartphones with Android e iOS, but after the link is created it is possible to access it via browsers.

Is the NGL anonymous?

The application's FAQ page points out that everything is done anonymously, but controversy already surrounds the name of the NGL. An article published by Techcrunch proved that after a link was available for less than a minute, messages were sent by bots as a way to make the account owner have content to post.

Comments on App Store of the EUA also inform that most of the messages received on the accounts were not sent by followers and/or people who saw the link to the account of ngl. The point at issue is that due to the impossibility of knowing what was sent by a person, the question remains whether the message was actually written by a person or by a robot created by the developers themselves.

The developers of ngl refuse to comment on the case, but a detail that may indicate the use of bots is the positive reviews on the App Store. Most of them are just phrases saying “very good”, without a more personal comment (and that would be written by a real person). See these examples:

Despite the anonymous question app on Instagram rising to fame, not even the Google and neither Apple commented on the possible use of bots.

How to receive anonymous questions on Instagram?

You can start receiving questions in less than five minutes and completely free of charge. After installing via App Store para iPhone ou Google Play Store for Android, link sharing can be done after account creation. See how to do it right now.

Step 1: Once the app is open on your mobile or tablet, just click on Get Questions. Then you will need to set a username for your account. Developers signal that you must use the same username as your account in Social media coordinator so that the connection is made without problems.

Step 2: then just copy the link by pressing the “copy links” or the “share link”, right there on the home screen of the ngl. If you select the second option, a special template will be created for sharing. It is not possible to customize your account link.

Step 3: after making the necessary customizations and posting to your account, just wait for your inbox to receive messages. Everything sent by your link can be seen in the section INBOX.

To reply to what was sent, just click on “reply” and you will automatically be taken to the Instagram edit screen. So just answer the question according to what was sent.

Is it safe to use NGL?

In order to be able to use the app, the developers require that the same username as your personal account is connected to the account that will receive the anonymous questions. According to these professionals, only the identification number will be shared with the ngl, which opens the way for sharing with other companies, although this has not been confirmed.

With that in mind, it's worth deciding whether this information will be sent to the app to get into the current trend. You can request deletion of the account (and data saved on the servers) in the application settings if you wish.

This access is similar to tools that use your account data to generate reports, so basically you would be allowing developers to see some information in exchange for using the app. The creators point out that nothing will be posted without the authorization of the account owner.

Is it worth paying the NGL?

In practice, there is no way to know who sent you each anonymous message. As much as the developers offer a paid weekly plan that costs R$ 51,99 according to the current dollar exchange rate, only information about the device used and the approximate location is reported.

With access to this, it will be necessary to “connect the dots” to try to find out who sent you the questions anonymously. An alternative is to ask the person who sent the message to speak in private, but this will depend a lot from person to person. It is not possible to request a refund after purchasing the paid plan, so be aware.

Hate speech is blocked on the platform

There is no human review for message filtering to be performed on the ngl, but the developers confirm that an artificial intelligence system does this job, so if you happen to receive some name-calling, the message probably won't make it to your inbox.

In cases where you have received a message that you consider abusive, it is possible to report the sending by the application itself by clicking on the attention icon located in the upper left corner of the screen. It is possible to select three reporting options, but the developers do not give more information about what will be done next.

Other anonymous quiz apps

Anonymous question apps and social networks are nothing new on the internet, but there's no denying that there are few options available for use. One of the most famous, but which was deactivated in April 2013, is the Formspring, which ran for free and delivered an experience similar to what we have in NGL.

O Ask.fm became a trend at the same time as Orkut, but cases of cyberbullying between 2012 and 2013 meant that the social network was left aside, despite it still being active. O Curious Cat  can be defined as a “Twitter and Facebook NGL” and is also active today, despite not being used as much as it was in 2017-2019.

The great success of ngl is the possibility of making the connection with Instagram, a social network that had more than 122 million active users in Brazil until March this year. What do you think of the app? Have you received many messages? tell us Comment!

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Sources: NBC News l Techcrunch l ngl l PC Mag