NYU Secrets will close down after 9,000 posts, but the page’s followers will still be able to share their anonymous secrets through  a new, similarly titled page NYUSecrets. After only one day the new page has 5,230 likes.

NYU Secrets, which has been active since November 2012, was made for sharing anonymous secrets and building a community within the university. NYU Secrets founder Aristo Orginos said community response was the main reason he chose to allow NYU Secrets to continue on a different page.

“So many people said that for better or for worse, NYU Secrets was an integral part of their experience here,” Orginos said. “A lot of people said they weren’t ready to see the page end, which to me meant that the page hadn’t finished its purpose.”

CAS sophomore Gagarin Zhao said she was skeptical of liking the new page at first.

“I only liked the page today,” Zhao said. “I’ve been debating whether or not I should follow the new NYU Secrets page because I wasn’t sure if it would live up to my expectations, and that not many people would
like it.”

Orginos said he will not be involved in handling the new page and will not have access to the secrets submitted.

“I won’t be involved in the new page except to get it running and act as an initial mentor to the new admin,” Orginos said. “I will see no secrets and have no permissions on the page itself.”

Zhao said she believes Orginos made a careful decision regarding the administrator of the
new page.

“I trust that Orignos has chosen the new administrator carefully, and that he/she would be a good enough person to not divulge any sensitive information,” Zhao said. “With great power, comes great responsibility, and I am optimistic that the new admin would handle his
power delicately.”

SPS freshman Gabriel Koatz said he thinks the new page will not compromise privacy for those who submit secrets.

“I didn’t feel any sense of privacy infringement, because I think people are signing a sort of unwritten waiver of consent in which they know the potential consequences of messaging a secret to the admin,” Koatz said. “I think the key here is keeping anonymity, which is why the admin should be anonymous. Anonymity is not a one way street. If the poster’s identities are going to be kept secret, then the admin shouldn’t be an exception.”

However, some students still feel the new page will not help foster community within NYU. CAS senior Maegan Vazquez said she is not interested in the continuation of NYU Secrets.

“I honestly don’t care,” Vazquez said. “It serves no relevance outside of the NYU community.”

Orginos said he hopes to see the new page accomplish even more than the original did.

“I want to see this new page far surpass what the original one has been able to do,” Orginos said. “I am extremely confident with who I have given this page to and have a strong belief that s/he will give a fresh direction to the page that stays true to the core tenets of the original. NYU Secrets has always been about community building. I think this next person will put my efforts to shame.”

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Feb. 23 print edition. Email Marita Vlachou at [email protected].