The growing number of anonymous communication platforms highlights the importance and scale of the desire for privacy online. Anonymity has gained a sense of authenticity and safety – and only by understanding this can brands continue to communicate effectively.

Anonymous platforms like Ask.fm, Secret, Whisper and Yik Yak let people communicate in secret, with millions of 18- to 24-year-olds already using them. But as the apps attract bullying, brands are treading carefully despite the opportunity to target this age group.

From the NSA scandal to the ‘white lies’ people often tell themselves, the world seems riddled with more deceit than ever. We sat down with acclaimed behavioural economist Dan Ariely to learn more about the driving forces behind dishonesty.

It’s been described by Cosmopolitan as “Sex and the City marries Facebook”. But is women-only app Lulu, where men are ‘reviewed’ by their exes, anything more than a reversal of the increasingly prominent online objectification of women?