The “Secret” is out. Literally. The social media app that pledged to keep its users’ identities anonymous is done, shut down, kaput. In most cases that would mean the investors would be out their money, just…out. Either that or the company would try to get more money and more time, attempt to rebuild, refit or rebrand.

Secret is doing none of those things. They are giving people their money back. Yes, seriously. But what does that mean for the company’s PR. Well, among investors, the jury is still out.

In one school of thought, giving the money back is a sign of giving up. It’s bad business to relinquish funds that could be used to pivot or try a new business strategy. Investors may want their money, but they would likely rather see that money reinvested, and new avenues explored. It’s easier to re-fit than start from scratch.

Then again, in certain cases, giving the money back is a smart PR move. Why? Because an investor who didn’t lose anything…didn’t lose anything. They may be more willing to reinvest in people who are committed to protecting their business relationship.

So, which decision was the way to go? Well, here’s one more important factor. Secret, Inc. still has a good deal of invested capital. The money they are giving back represented specifically the product and the marketing team for that product. Because of that, the Secret leadership team chose to return the money. So, how much of the $35 million initial venture capital investment did they return? That’s unclear at this point, as is who received the refund.

What might be the ultimate tipping point in this conversation, though, has nothing to do with business and everything to do with the PR centered around being a solid human being. Secret had been used – frequently and intensively – to harass, bully and attack users. Teens, in particular, were becoming targets of abuse.

So, in the end, the decision to pull the plug may have had less to do with business and more to do with humanity. That’s a pretty good deciding factor.

Ronn Torossian is the Founder and CEO of 5W Public Relations, a PR firm in NYC and Los Angeles.