Oh come all ye sinful! Confess in confidence…. to your iPhone
15 December 2010, London— Christmas is a time of indulgence and (often) over-indulgence. The party season is responsible for more than its fair share of gluttony, greed and drunken trysts that you're sure to regret the morning after. Luckily, for the sinner overwhelmed with guilt this holiday season, a free iPhone app has just hit the market which allows you to anonymously confess your indiscretions to your handset – and receive a personalised penance to boot!
The new iPhone app called 'Penance' lets users choose from seven categories of misdemeanour they wish to confess, one for each of the Deadly Sins, and will transmit details of your bad behaviour anonymously to other iPhone users, who then send back a personalised 'Penance' that you must carry out to be absolved of your sins.
The app is the brainchild of British developer Hasham Abbas, who explained his inspiration behind the idea. “Christmas and New Year's are holidays that bring out the best in us and also the worst in us. Many will feel guilty about their behaviour but, with churchgoing at an all-time low, and the digital age leaving us disconnected from our families and communities, few have an outlet for healthy confession. So it made sense to give people a virtual confession booth where they can unload whatever has been troubling their conscience.”
As well as giving users the chance to bare their souls to strangers, the 'Penance' app also asks users to review the confessions of others and provide comfort, words of advice and (if appropriate) a suggestion about how they can make up for their sinful behaviour.
Abbas explains the process: “Let's say you were overcome with lust at the office Christmas party and were unfaithful to your partner. You could 'confess' your sin using our free app and details of your misdeed would be sent to a handful of other iPhones. They could then send you a message back telling you how you should make up for your transgressions – a 'Penance' that will absolve you of your sin. You can then choose to either accept or reject their suggestion, and there will be league tables of the people who have offered the most helpful responses to sinners.”
“Of course that's an extreme example,” continues Abbas, “as it's not always going to be debauchery, drink and drugs. It could be something simpler like you hurt someone's feelings or acted selfishly towards your neighbour. However, given that you could receive some very 'adult' confessions beamed straight to your iPhone, we had to restrict the app to over 16s as the last thing we want is for a confession filled with graphic descriptions of sex, violence or illegal activities to be sent to someone too young to understand it.”
The 'Penance' app is now available on iTunes for free download. App users must be prepared for the possibility that they will receive graphic descriptions of sexual, violent or illegal behaviour. Messages received from other users of the app are to be treated with common sense, and the developers accept no liability for actions any user of the 'Penance' app chooses to take. We advise users to adopt a common sense approach and obey the law in your jurisdiction at all times. The 'Penance' app is for adults only and should not be downloaded or used by children.
Further details about the 'Penance' app can be found by visiting the iTunes website and searching for 'Penance'. Editorial questions should be directed to Junaid Bhatti at Ballencrieff House on +44 7980 586 243 or by email [email protected]. Interviews are available on request.