New Israeli app lets you erase your social media mistakes

SessMe does what so many who have sent out photos and messages by mistake have longed to do – buries the evidence

SessMe in action (Courtesy)
SessMe in action (Courtesy)

There’s good news for those whose trigger finger – the one used to send out messages and photos on smart devices – is a little too itchy. A new Israeli-developed app called SessMe lets users take action – besides cry – after they’ve sent out something they wish they hadn’t.

SessMe saves users from embarrassing phone, video, and chats by deleting them all across its user network. If a SessMe user sends out a photo of themselves to others in the network in, say, a compromising position – a very graphic video by the company shows a good example of what it means – the user can delete it from their device, and from the device of anyone else who received it, as well as anyone else those recipients forwarded it to, all the way down the line.

SessMe keeps track of who sent what to whom, so users can selectively delete a photo – with the app reaching out as far as necessary.

Slowly but surely, people have come to understand that social media can be fatal to job prospects, relationships, and even bank accounts. Employers, for example, troll the Facebook pages of employees, looking for “inappropriate behavior,” while police have made numerous arrests based on Twitter posts made by drug dealers, gang members, and others. Even the tax people are getting in on the action: In the UK, tax authorities have been using social media to spy on individuals suspected of cheating to get evidence of the contents of their homes, the cars they drive, the trips they take, and so on.

Rogue photos have even led to loss of life. There have been numerous cases of victims of shaming – especially teens – who have attempted to commit suicide after compromising videos and photos of them were posted on websites, social media pages, and on public forums.

Helping to prevent shaming, in fact, is a major motivation for their development of the app, said co-CEOs and developers of the SessMe app, Ofer Ben-David and Haim Sa’ar. “Polls show that in 90% of cases, individuals between 13 and 21 would want to take back a photo or video that was hurtful to others. We believe that SessMe has what it takes to change the rules of the game, and provide a revolution in the way social media is used.

Similar to WhatsApp, SessMe has its own network and its own cloud – which is the app’s secret sauce. “Any photo, video or conversation sent to others using the app can be deleted as far down the line as a sender wants, providing the recipients are using the app as well – just like in WhatsApp. Another security measure we’ve added is that recipients cannot take screenshots or download the images to their devices for storage, unless the sender specifically allows them. This way, there is no danger that content will ‘by surprise’ crop up again after a user thinks they got rid of it,” the company said.

In addition, photos, videos and conversations can be encrypted, providing even further security – with only recipients who receive a numerical key able to unlock the content. Thus, even users who receive the content can be blocked from viewing it, unless the sender explicitly permits it. Like other content on the SessMe network, encrypted data can be deleted down the line as well.

Since the app only works within its own network — meaning that it only works with content sent using the app, to other SessMe users — users are urged to spread the word, so that everyone they chat and send photos and videos to will use the app and be a lot safer online.

“We came out with this on Tuesday, and already it’s making a big splash on the web. It’s available in 21 languages, for Android and iOS, and it’s free.” the company said. “Obviously the more people that download and install it, the more effective it will be. This is the only app of its kind anywhere, and we believe this will be one of the biggest changes to hit the Internet in recent years.”

Most Popular
read more: