Building digital safe spaces

A new app designed to help people have safe, frank and open discussions about their mental health launched this week.

Could it be a way to help people engage with issues around money and finance that can lead to stress, anxiety and depression?

Huddle, created by two ex-developers from Tumblr, is intended to be a digital safe space where people who either can’t or don’t want to access traditional support resources can share video content about their mental health issues and connect with other users.

Users can choose to be anonymous and blur their video footage if they aren’t comfortable being identified. But, Huddles creators predict that over time people will feel more comfortable revealing themselves, and have already seen that if one person de-pixelates their video feed others are likely to follow.

Of course, there’s the potential for abuse of a system like this. It’s been reported this week that Facebook shut down its own anonymous forum after it became a haven for abuse. Huddle’s creators hope this won’t happen to their platform.

Considering how much pressure issues like access to financial services can put on people, we think there’s a major possibility that people may start migrating to services like Huddle in air their money worries.

This feels particularly relevant in the UK where access to financial support isn’t widely available and there is a fear that seeking it can then lead to lack of access to products and services.