4 reasons why an app might not be right for anonymous reporting

In the current world, mobile phones are a staple of people’s lives, with 83% of the world’s population using one, 2 billion people accessing the internet exclusively with a mobile and 85% of people’s time on their phone spent using apps. It might therefore make sense that an anonymous reporting system should be an app people download and use for convenience. However, it’s not quite as simple as that.

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In this blog post we have listed four reasons why mobile apps for end users to anonymously report incidents of bullying, discrimination and harassment at places of work and study are not as safe – both from a data and privacy point of view and a psychological safety perspective – as they may seem.

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1. Your data and privacy may not be completely safe

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According to findings, almost one-third of people (31%) want complete privacy and don’t trust companies with their information and 64% of people don’t trust any app to use their data in an ethical way. While only just over half (57%) of people feel safe enough or believe it is convenient enough to allow apps to track their location (this was even less for women). When it comes to the use of sensitive information such as the disclosure of personal data and details regarding an incident of sexual harassment for example, you can understand people’s hesitancy.

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At Culture Shift, we make sure our data and that of our partners is as safe and secure as possible, adhering to the highest standards and we are constantly trying to improve security.

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2. Having an anonymous reporting app is another step people have to take

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For some people, having apps on their phone can be bothersome. From having to download it, sign up and create an account, to having to input passwords or set up other security measures, plus even read T&Cs on data privacy (though 91% of people admit to not reading them, therefore potentially creating problems further down the line), the steps to having another app on a phone can be a barrier to people using it.

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For an anonymous reporting app to report incidents of problematic behaviour, this may be too many steps for them in a journey which is already incredibly difficult to start on. With Report + Support, staff and students can access the site easily via their web browser without the need of signing into an account. Plus, have you ever had an app randomly sign you out and you struggle to sign back in? These are frustrations which can add time and put people off.

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3. The instigator could access the app

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Many people keep their phones on or close to them at all times and locked when not using them, but that does not mean it isn’t possible for someone to get hold of your phone, unlock it in some way and use it. Those who are at the hands of extreme coercive or micro-management behaviour for example, may be most vulnerable to having their phones monitored where the instigator could discover they have the app and are using it to report them, potentially harming the victim even more.

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Furthermore, if the victim did want to hide their use of the system, it can often be easier to change tabs on a laptop or desktop rather than a phone, especially if they are using the site at work where they do not have to be as inconspicuous compared to if they were doing so on their phone.

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4. An anonymous reporting app is more of an emergency measure

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Research into app-based reporting tools for victims of sexual harassment has shown that they are used more or perhaps better suited to being for short-term emergency functions, for example, as soon as possible after the incident has happened. Although there is an increase in some apps like this that offer further support and education as a preventative measure beyond simply being able to report, we believe few offer what our system can for both users and the organisation.

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nspiringly though, some of our partners such as the University of Warwick have integrated Report + Support into their My Warwick App for people to access. Doing this if you have an internal company app and making sure everyone is aware of what Report + Support is and how it can be used does mean people don’t have to try to hide it nor does it have to be an extra app they must download.

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Summary

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The above four reasons will hopefully tell you why our anonymous reporting software is not available as an app and help you understand why it is not necessarily the right solution. And additionally, when nearly 12,000 reports have been submitted via our anonymous reporting platform by end users from across our 90 partners in the last four years, not having an app has not yet been identified as a barrier.