The Non-Financial Ledger

This is an accounting of damages that will never appear on a corporate balance sheet. The story of NGL Labs is a story of calculated emotional manipulation. Imagine being a teenager, navigating the already treacherous social landscape of high school. An app promises a “safe space,” a “fresh take on anonymity,” a way to hear what your peers honestly think. You post a link, hoping for connection, validation, or even just curiosity. A notification appears. A message arrives. It’s provocative, personal, maybe even a confession of a secret crush. “I’ve had a crush on you for years and you still dont know lmao.” Your heart races. Who sent it? The app dangles the answer just out of reach, behind a paywall. You pay. You have to know.

The betrayal hits when you realize you were never talking to a person. You were talking to a bot. The message that sparked your hope or anxiety was a “fake question,” one of over 1,000 unique, computer-generated lines of code designed by NGL Labs executives to get you addicted. The company’s own Growth & Marketing Lead, Joao Figueiredo, admitted it in internal texts: “These ppl addicted… there’s people sharing the [NGL App link] EVERY day and all they get is fake questions.” This is not a software bug; it is the business model. It is a system built to prey on the universal human need for connection and weaponize it for profit.

The cost of this deception is measured in anxiety and doubt. Every genuine message a user received became tainted with the possibility of being fake. The app eroded trust, replacing the potential for authentic interaction with a paranoid guessing game. It created an environment where young people, already vulnerable to social pressures, were taught that their interactions were transactional and their curiosity was a resource to be mined. Executives allegedly knew their fake messages were causing harm. Figueiredo noted, “I feel like a lot of ‘harassment’ complaints come from fake questions lol[.]” The “lol” speaks volumes. It is the casual dismissal of human distress, the sound of a ledger that only counts clicks and subscriptions.

“Consumers have also reported to Defendants instances of self-harm and even suicide as a result of using the NGL App.”

Beyond the bot-driven manipulation, the platform became a conduit for real-world harm. The promise of anonymity, poorly policed by a supposedly “world class” AI, predictably devolved into a cesspool of cyberbullying. The complaint filed by the FTC is a catalog of this damage. Parents, educators, and children themselves reported rampant threats, harassment, and sexually explicit content. One user reported their friend “attempted suicide” because of the app. Another wrote they were “contemplating suicide.” The company’s response was to create a “Safety Center” on its website, a public relations facade that did nothing to change the app’s core design which enabled this behavior.

NGL Labs knew the history of anonymous apps. They knew platforms like Yolo and LMK were shut down for facilitating the exact same kinds of abuse. The complaint states they studied these failures and then chose to replicate them. They targeted “popular kids,” “high school cheer” pages, and “high school micro influencers” to accelerate adoption, knowing full well the psychological damage their product was engineered to cause and amplify. The final entry in this ledger is the complete abdication of responsibility. When confronted with user complaints about being scammed, the company’s Product Lead allegedly wrote “Lol suckers.” This is the ultimate cost: the complete and utter contempt for the young lives they chose to exploit.

Societal Impact Mapping

Environmental Degradation

The source document for this investigation, Case 2:24-cv-05753 filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, focuses on charges of deceptive business practices, violations of online commerce laws, and illegal data collection from minors. The complaint does not contain information regarding the environmental impact of NGL Labs, LLC’s operations, such as data center energy consumption or electronic waste policies. Therefore, an analysis of this specific vector of harm cannot be conducted based on the provided evidence.

Public Health

The business practices of NGL Labs represent a direct assault on public health, specifically the mental and emotional well-being of adolescents. By marketing an anonymous messaging app directly to children and teens, the company knowingly entered a domain with a documented history of causing psychological distress. The FTC complaint details how NGL Labs was aware of the mass cyberbullying that led to the downfall of similar apps like Yolo and LMK, yet proceeded to “push [the NGL App] to 5 kids at a random school” to manufacture viral growth. This is not negligence; it is a deliberate business strategy that accepts user harm as a foreseeable consequence of its marketing plan.

The public health crisis is twofold. First, the app’s core functionality facilitates harassment. The complaint cites numerous reports from parents and school officials about “rampant cyberbullying and threats,” including “threatening” and “sexually explicit content” that was “significantly affecting the mental health and well-being of our students.” Media investigations confirmed that the company’s vaunted “world class AI content moderation” failed to filter basic bullying terms like “You’re fat,” “Everyone hates you,” and “You’re a loser.” The most severe outcomes of this toxic environment are documented in the complaint: reports of users engaging in self-harm and attempting suicide directly linked to their experience on the app. Second, the company’s use of “fake, computer-generated messages” actively creates anxiety. These messages, described by users as “invasive” and “concerning,” were designed to “make the user feel something,” preying on insecurities to drive engagement and sales. This systematic psychological manipulation for profit constitutes a clear and substantial public health injury.

Economic Inequality

NGL Labs’ business model is a mechanism for wealth extraction from a financially vulnerable and legally protected demographic: children and teenagers. The scheme operates by creating a false pretense for a financial transaction. The app generates an artificial emotional stimulus—a provocative fake message—and then presents a solution: pay us to discover the source. This constitutes a deceptive practice designed to manipulate users into making a purchase they otherwise would not.

The financial trap is deepened by the subscription model itself, which violates the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). The complaint states that the recurring cost of NGL Pro, initially “$9.99 per week” and later “$6.99/week,” was disclosed only in “small, difficult to read, off-white text” or “small inconspicuous grey text.” Many young users, believing they were making a one-time purchase, were enrolled in a recurring subscription that amounts to over $360 per year. This is a significant financial burden for a teenager. Apple itself warned NGL Labs that the app “attempts to manipulate customers into making unwanted in-app purchases” and accused them of “cheating and scamming their customers.” This is a direct transfer of wealth from families and young people to the company’s founders, Raj Vir and Joao Figueiredo, built entirely on a foundation of lies and non-disclosure. It exploits the information asymmetry between a sophisticated tech company and a young, trusting user base.

The “Cost of a Life” Metric

Legal Receipts

The following are direct statements and facts taken from the FTC’s complaint (Case 2:24-cv-05753). They are not allegations made by this publication; they are the evidence filed in federal court.

On Engineering Addiction with Fake Messages:

“These ppl addicted… there’s people sharing the [NGL App link] EVERY day and all they get is fake questions.”

– Attributed to Defendant Joao Figueiredo, Growth & Marketing Lead

On Acknowledging Harassment from Their Own Bots:

“I feel like a lot of ‘harassment’ complaints come from fake questions lol[.]”

– Attributed to Defendant Joao Figueiredo

On Lying to Users with Push Notifications:

“In response to the suggestion that they send a notification to consumers telling the consumer that they had a new message waiting for them, Defendant Vir admitted that ‘New messages [is] kinda a lie though right[?]’ But when Defendant Figueiredo pointed out that the ‘new message’ notification resulted in significantly higher engagement by consumers, Defendant Vir acquiesced, writing, ‘Hmm. So maybe we just need to do forever fake questions lol[.]’”

– Attributed to Defendants Raj Vir and Joao Figueiredo

On the Fear of Getting Caught by Apple:

“The last thing we want is Apple saying we’re tricking people to buying [NGL Pro] through fake questions.”

– Attributed to NGL Labs’ Product Lead

On Deceiving Scammed Customers:

“In response to a consumer complaining about the fact that NGL Pro does not actually disclose ‘who sent’ a message, the company’s Product Lead wrote ‘Lol suckers’ in a text message thread with Defendants Vir and Figueiredo.”

– Attributed to NGL Labs’ Product Lead

On Apple’s Formal Warning:

“Indeed, on July 11, 2022, Apple warned Defendants that the NGL App ‘attempts to manipulate customers into making unwanted in-app purchases by not displaying the billed amount clearly and conspicuously to the users.’ Apple even went so far as to accuse Defendants of cheating and scamming their customers through their sales of NGL Pro.”

– Factual assertion from the complaint

On the Failure of AI Moderation:

“one media outlet found in its testing of the NGL App that the App’s ‘language filters allowed messages with more routine bullying terms . . . including the phrases ‘You’re fat,’ ‘Everyone hates you,’ ‘You’re a loser’ and ‘You’re ugly.’’ Another media outlet reported that it had found that ‘[t]hreatening messages with emojis that could be considered harmful like the knife and dagger icon were not blocked.'”

– Factual assertion from the complaint

What Now?

The legal process has begun, but accountability is never guaranteed by the state alone. Public pressure and awareness are critical tools to prevent these practices from being replicated by the next startup looking for a quick profit.

Leadership On The Hook

The complaint names the individuals who allegedly formulated, directed, and controlled these practices.

• Raj Vir: Co-founder, CEO, and Technical Lead. Allegedly coded the app, directed employees, and was aware of consumer complaints and legal violations.
• Joao Figueiredo: Co-founder, Growth & Marketing Lead. Allegedly handled marketing, customer support, and discussed the use of deceptive “fake questions” in internal messages.
• [REDACTED – Not in Source]: The unnamed “Product Lead” who allegedly mocked consumers as “suckers.”

The Watchlist

These are the agencies and bodies currently involved. Their actions, and the outcome of this case, will set a precedent for how Silicon Valley is allowed to treat young people.

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC): The federal agency leading the charge on deceptive practices, illegal subscriptions (ROSCA), and child privacy violations (COPPA).
• Office of Los Angeles County District Attorney: Pursuing violations of California’s Unfair Competition and False Advertising Laws.
• Apple App Store & Google Play Store: The gatekeepers. Their enforcement of their own platform rules is a key battleground. Apple already warned NGL Labs; their continued hosting of the app is a question that demands an answer.

Your Role

Regulatory action is slow. Corporate fines are often just a cost of doing business. Real change comes from below.

• Support Mutual Aid Networks: Young people are experiencing real distress. Support local mental health initiatives and youth-led organizations that provide safe spaces for connection without corporate exploitation.
• Organize Locally: Talk to parents, teachers, and school administrators. Raise awareness about predatory apps. Demand stronger digital literacy and safety education in schools that names these specific exploitative business models.
• Amplify This Information: Share this investigation. The business model of NGL Labs relies on a constant churn of new, unaware users. Cutting off that supply by spreading the truth is a direct action that hurts their bottom line.