Tarzia (PHD, '11) Launches Private Mobile Messaging App, Secret Square

EECS Alumnus Steve Tarzia, (PHD, 2011) recently launched his private mobile messaging app startup, called Secret Square.

The mobile messaging app, brings friends closer together by inspiring quirky and spontaneous moments. Messages disappear so you're free to be yourself while protecting your future self. Some of the app's features include:

• Send disappearing text and photo messages to your closest friends
• Messages are encrypted end-to-end for your protection
• You choose who can talk to you, so say goodbye to spammers, scammers, and creepers
• Super-simple and easy to use

Using patented technology, Secret Square lets you send encrypted vanishing messages to your friends at any time. Whether you decide to type a message or send a secret photo, the possibilities are endless, because names and messages are never shown at the same time and screenshots are no longer viewed as a reason not to speak your mind.

Tarzia said, "We get a lot of questions about how to connect to friends. Connecting on Secret Square actually requires that two people meet up in person and scan each other's phones. We call it scanning your friend's Secret Square. Isn't that old-fashioned? Yes, but it's the only way that you can be sure the person you're talking to is really who you think it is and that the encryption key you're using is authentic.Stop reading this and start hitting up your friends with some real talk."

A key feature of the app is simplified usability, which allows users the ability to make messages disappear two minutes after they're opened.

"Unlike other systems, we make no compromises when it comes to your privacy," said Tarzia. "We don’t know your real name, your email address, or your phone number. We don’t scrape your phone contact list or connect to your Facebook account. Your messages are encrypted through the magic of “Elliptic Curve public key cryptography”. That means that your messages can’t be read outside of on your phone."

With many more promising developments on the horizon, Secret Square just may be the future of mobile messaging.

Tarzia said, "We’ve enjoyed building Secret Square but this is just the beginning of the journey. The best is yet to come."

Read more on their Facebook Page, Blog, and in The Daily Northwestern, as well as video showcasing the app's features below.