A common pattern seen among young people is the belief that their voices and feelings cannot or will not be heard. This leads many kids, and even young adults, to feel lonely, unwanted and in some cases, as if the world is against them. A lesser-known app called “Vent” has a mission to give those who cannot regularly express themselves a chance to do so freely.

The app is a form of social media centered around expressing one’s feelings to a community that will listen, discuss, and even provide support for those who may need such interaction. Like Twitter, Vent works by posting plain text under a category of emotion that the person is feeling; however, what sets Vent apart from most social media forms is it does not allow posting of photos or videos. The only form of pictures allowed on the app are people’s profile pictures.

Vent has a system of “listening” which is essentially following another profile so you can continue to view what they say by having their vents show up in your main feed. Aside from the feed, the app has other sections such as the On the Rise, Most Discussed, and Latest Vents.

In the Most Discussed section, you will find vents that have been seen by thousands of people with hundreds to thousands of interactions each. In the On the Rise section, you’ll find vents that have been interacted with in the double-digits and may have been seen by 50 or so people.

Latest Vents includes things that were just said by people. Since the app is relatively active, one can usually refresh in the Latest Vents and have a whole new group of vents appear. There is also a search bar which allows you to search for vent topics.

However, Vents can and will be seen by any Vent user who is in the Latest Vents, provided they are in at the right time, for the frequency at which vents are uploaded usually push even recent vents away from view relatively quickly. While some may not be comfortable with their feelings being viewed by just anybody, the app allows this so the community is able to find and provide support for people’s situations; it allows for people’s voices to be heard without fail, if they so choose.

Since the app deals with feelings, sensibilities, and opinions — which have history of being easily contested — the Vent company has guidelines on how people post so it can protect weaker constitutions. For example, there are settings that can make your profile private so no one can peruse your vents without first having a mutual “listening” relationship with you. If two profiles are “mutuals”, they are also given the option to message each other directly.

Vents that are about things that may not be completely “safe for work” are required to be flagged as such to give users a heads-up before they read the vent. Vent users like to give people the “heads up” in consideration of the reader all the time, meaning there is no majority of people out to scar other users.

The app is rated “Teen” in the Google Play Store, which is an accurate description of the Vent environment. The app is by no means a necessity, but it is an excellent tool to acquire some solace for anyone who is stalled in a doldrum of loneliness or anger.