Should I Build It Should I Build It
15 Jun 2025
Messaging

A messaging app like WhatsApp only for actors with privacy protection

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

The idea of a secure messaging app for actors, similar to WhatsApp but with enhanced privacy, falls into a crowded and challenging space, which we call the 'Swamp'. Our analysis shows that there are at least 10 similar products, indicating a high level of competition. The average number of comments for these similar products is low (3), suggesting limited user engagement. There are no strong signals of net use or buy intent in the existing market, meaning there isn't a clear indication that people are actively seeking or willing to pay for such a solution. Given the competition and the absence of strong positive signals, standing out and achieving profitability will be tough. The category itself recommends against building, unless something fundamentally different is offered.

Recommendations

  1. Given the existing landscape, begin with thorough research to understand why current secure messaging solutions haven't fully resonated with actors. Identify the specific pain points they experience with existing platforms and what their unmet privacy needs are. This is crucial to understanding if a truly differentiated product can be built.
  2. Instead of directly competing with established messaging apps, consider focusing on a specific niche within the acting community. For example, target actors working on sensitive projects (e.g., those under NDAs) or those requiring secure communication for specific types of auditions or roles. A narrower focus can make it easier to tailor the app's features and security protocols to meet their unique requirements.
  3. Investigate the potential for creating privacy-focused tools that integrate with existing messaging platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram. This approach would allow actors to maintain their current communication habits while benefiting from enhanced security features provided by your tools. This could be a faster path to market and user adoption.
  4. Explore adjacent problems faced by actors, such as secure file sharing of audition tapes or encrypted contract negotiations. Addressing these related issues could open up more promising avenues for innovation and provide a more comprehensive solution for actors' professional needs.
  5. Before committing to development, test your core assumptions about actors' privacy needs and willingness to switch messaging platforms. Conduct user interviews, surveys, and focus groups to validate your value proposition and gather feedback on your proposed features. This can help you avoid building a product that nobody wants.
  6. Based on the user discussions around similar products, make sure you are crystal clear about your security measures and communicate them clearly to your potential users. A lack of information about your security protocols will make them distrust your app, regardless of how well it is designed and implemented.

Questions

  1. What specific security threats are most concerning to actors when communicating professionally, and how can your app address these concerns in a way that existing solutions don't?
  2. How will you acquire early adopters and create a network effect within the acting community, given that messaging apps are inherently reliant on user adoption and engagement?
  3. What monetization strategies can you implement that align with the privacy-focused nature of your app and avoid compromising user data or trust?

Your are here

The idea of a secure messaging app for actors, similar to WhatsApp but with enhanced privacy, falls into a crowded and challenging space, which we call the 'Swamp'. Our analysis shows that there are at least 10 similar products, indicating a high level of competition. The average number of comments for these similar products is low (3), suggesting limited user engagement. There are no strong signals of net use or buy intent in the existing market, meaning there isn't a clear indication that people are actively seeking or willing to pay for such a solution. Given the competition and the absence of strong positive signals, standing out and achieving profitability will be tough. The category itself recommends against building, unless something fundamentally different is offered.

Recommendations

  1. Given the existing landscape, begin with thorough research to understand why current secure messaging solutions haven't fully resonated with actors. Identify the specific pain points they experience with existing platforms and what their unmet privacy needs are. This is crucial to understanding if a truly differentiated product can be built.
  2. Instead of directly competing with established messaging apps, consider focusing on a specific niche within the acting community. For example, target actors working on sensitive projects (e.g., those under NDAs) or those requiring secure communication for specific types of auditions or roles. A narrower focus can make it easier to tailor the app's features and security protocols to meet their unique requirements.
  3. Investigate the potential for creating privacy-focused tools that integrate with existing messaging platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram. This approach would allow actors to maintain their current communication habits while benefiting from enhanced security features provided by your tools. This could be a faster path to market and user adoption.
  4. Explore adjacent problems faced by actors, such as secure file sharing of audition tapes or encrypted contract negotiations. Addressing these related issues could open up more promising avenues for innovation and provide a more comprehensive solution for actors' professional needs.
  5. Before committing to development, test your core assumptions about actors' privacy needs and willingness to switch messaging platforms. Conduct user interviews, surveys, and focus groups to validate your value proposition and gather feedback on your proposed features. This can help you avoid building a product that nobody wants.
  6. Based on the user discussions around similar products, make sure you are crystal clear about your security measures and communicate them clearly to your potential users. A lack of information about your security protocols will make them distrust your app, regardless of how well it is designed and implemented.

Questions

  1. What specific security threats are most concerning to actors when communicating professionally, and how can your app address these concerns in a way that existing solutions don't?
  2. How will you acquire early adopters and create a network effect within the acting community, given that messaging apps are inherently reliant on user adoption and engagement?
  3. What monetization strategies can you implement that align with the privacy-focused nature of your app and avoid compromising user data or trust?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 10
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 3
  • Net use signal: 10.6%
    • Positive use signal: 20.6%
    • Negative use signal: 10.0%
  • Net buy signal: -7.5%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 7.5%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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