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A BRAND new smartphone app allows LGBTI people who have not yet come out to anonymously survey their friends and family to find out if they would be supportive.

The launch of You’re Accepted, by youth LGBTI group Minus18 and creative agency George Patterson Y&R (GPY&R), coincided with International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT).


The app is designed to send an anonymous message out to a person’s contacts on social media telling them they are LGBTI and to ask if that person would accept them. Their network then reply, sending positive messages of support.

All messages are moderated so if a person either receives no replies or a negative response they are not forwarded on, but instead they are sent links to online resources and are connected to the Minus18 network to meet other LGBTI young people.

Minus18 CEO Micah Scott said even though his friends and family were supportive, having an app like You’re Accepted would have saved him years of anxiety.

“In relation to my own coming out process I had super supportive friends, but I was so petrified that they would bully me or disown me as friends,” he told Star Observer.

“If I had had this app, it would have saved me from negative perception I had about myself and a lot of turmoil.

“I could’ve prevented so many years of anxiety. I could’ve come out earlier.”

Scott said Minus18 partnered with GPY&R – who donated their services to develop the app – because many young people were coming to them asking for advice on how to come out to family and friends.

“Unfortunately, we live in a world where there is risk associated with coming and expressing your identity,” he said.

“Coming out, particularly when you’re young, is very personal and daunting for anyone who is LGBTI. The number one question we’re asked is ‘how do I know if my friends will accept me?’

“It (You’re Accepted) removes the guesswork from a process with a lot of questions.”

Check out their video below: