Police and online safety experts fear as many as 11 apps are being used by teenagers to launch anonymous attacks.
Officers warn they are seeing “rising levels” of young people between 10 and 14 killing themselves after being bullied online.
One police insider told the Daily Star Sunday: “These apps are truly lethal. It is a worrying time to be a young, impressionable teenager, and it needs to be stamped out. This has to start at home.
“Like all problems with apps and technology, it’s almost impossible for police to regulate. It’s horrendous and it is happening every day.
“What is horrifying to parents and adults is seen as normal for young people. Adults need all the information they can get to stamp this out.
“We have to stop children from bullying to an extent where a young victim sees no other way out than to take their own life.”
Will Gardner, the chief executive of the children’s charity Childnet, added: “People are generally nastier on anonymised sites.”
One of the anonymous messaging apps linked to online bullying is Sarahah, which launched last year.
The app, created by Saudi Arabia computer scientist Zainalabdin Tawfiq, invites users to “improve your friendship by discovering your strengths and areas for improvement; let your friends be honest with you”.
It was set up to allow employees to give anonymous feedback to bosses and colleagues but has become hugely popular with teenagers around the world.
But when the app was downloaded by teens the “honest feedback” often took on a nasty, offensive and bullying tone.
The app was dropped from Apple and Google stores earlier this year after accusations it was facilitating bullying.
Katrina Collins, from Australia, started a petition after she was shocked when reading the anonymous messages her 13-year-old daughter was receiving.
One person said she hoped her daughter would kill herself, adding “seriously no one would care”.
Grimsby schoolgirl Jazzminn Chester, 14, also spoke out about the “disgusting” messages she received on the app.
She said: "I really just want to make people aware that this is going on, because it could end up with something very tragic happening.
"This all started with me when I was feeling a bit down and put a post up on Snapchat and asked people to say something nice to try and pick myself up, and I instantly starting getting comments telling me to cut and kill myself which is just horrible.
"The thing is that this is a constant thing that happens on this app, people know that they are anonymous and that gives them some urge to just be horrible to people, because then they can't be found out.”
Founder Mr Tawfiq said he hadn’t anticipated the site would become so popular with teenagers.
He said: “We have to prevent bullying as much as possible. It is at the top of our list; it is something of concern to us. We would not be happy to hear that a user got affected.”
Other apps that have been linked to online bullying include Ask.fm, which was linked to several teen suicides in 2013.
Another anonymous messaging platform, Estonia-based Sayat.me, was taken offline following the death of George Hessay, 15, from Goole, who killed himself last year.
Other apps police fear are being used to make anonymous attacks include Feednoly, Hot or Not, Omegle, Burn Book, Wishbone, Whisper, Kik, Snapchat and Calculator%.
The NSPCC wants social media companies to “take responsibility for the risks that children face when they go online”.
A spokesman said: “Name-calling, spreading rumours, death threats and blackmail are just some of the ways young people are being tormented on social media.”
If you feel unable to talk to someone you know, contact your GP, call 999, or call the Samaritans (116 123).
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