YouTube unveils in-app messaging to become the video watercooler again

YouTube unveils in-app messaging to become the video watercooler again

YouTube is facing off strident competition from Facebook to be the defacto place where people talk about social video – and to do this it is releasing an in-app messaging service. In a blogpost, the company, using Justin Bieber’s record breaking single ‘Despacito’ as a prime example, said it wants users sharing videos directly with friends and […]

Amazon takes on WhatsApp with “Anytime” messenger

Amazon takes on WhatsApp with “Anytime” messenger

Amazon is reportedly developing an encrypted messaging app called Anytime, designed as a direct competitor to WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and other popular messaging apps. According to a report in AFTV News, the encrypted service could integrate SMS, video and voice calls, stickers, gifs and emojis, games, photo sharing, ‘@mentions’ and photo and video filters. The service […]

WhatsApp Reportedly Planning to Launch Mobile Payments Service in India

WhatsApp Reportedly Planning to Launch Mobile Payments Service in India

WhatsApp is reportedly working to launch P2P (person-to-person) payments within its messaging app, starting in India. According to The Ken, Facebook is currently looking for a head of digital transactions with knowledge of India’s biometric ID system Aadhaar, UPI (Unified Payments Interface), and BHIM, a cross-bank payment app launched in the country at the end of last year. […]

Mobivity Joins Early Access Program from Google to Bring RCS Messaging to Businesses

Mobivity Joins Early Access Program from Google to Bring RCS Messaging to Businesses

Mobivity Holdings Corp., the provider of SmartSuite, an award-winning mobile marketing and customer engagement platform, announced they are joining a new early access program for RCS (Rich Communications Services) business messaging from Google. The new program, designed for brand marketers, will help businesses upgrade their mobile messaging from SMS to RCS, delivering more detailed and […]

Disney Launches Kid-friendly Messaging App

Disney Launches Kid-friendly Messaging App

Disney Australia has launched its own standalone messaging app aimed at creating a family-friendly channel for kids to communicate over which integrates games and education resources. Disney Mix is approved for “4+” on the app store, and includes reminders about online safety, cyberbullying and harassment, with an integrated “Whistle” icon in all chat threads that […]

Microsoft’s uncertain Skype strategy continues with new app for Windows phones

Microsoft’s uncertain Skype strategy continues with new app for Windows phones

Microsoft keeps wavering between task-oriented separate apps and an all-in-one client. Microsoft’s preview of the new, modern, Universal Windows Platform (UWP) version of the Skype client received a big upgrade today: it’s now available for devices running Windows 10 Mobile as well as Windows 10 PCs. In addition to supporting Windows phones, the client has […]

Facebook forces Android users to download Messenger ap

Facebook forces Android users to download Messenger ap

Facebook has instructed all Android users to download its Messenger app, ending support for the service from directly within the social network’s own website. The move means that any one-to-one conversations will now have to be done via the Messenger App on mobile devices. Users can still send direct messages via the standard Facebook website. […]

Snapchat overtakes Twitter in daily active users

Snapchat overtakes Twitter in daily active users

Messaging app Snapchat has become more popular than Twitter in terms of daily active users, according to a new Bloomberg report. The report claims that 150 million people are now using Snapchat daily. Twitter, meanwhile, has an estimated 140 million daily active users, based on earlier statements. Twitter counts 310 million monthly active users based on its most […]

Google takes on Slack and WhatApp with ‘Spaces’ group sharing tool

Google takes on Slack and WhatApp with ‘Spaces’ group sharing tool

Google has launched Spaces, a collaborative messaging app similar to the increasingly popular Slack. Spaces features integration with other Google products, such as Chrome and YouTube, allowing users to share articles and videos without leaving the Spaces app. A ‘space’ can be started and maintained around anything: a weekend getaway, a love of comic books, […]

Because Consumers Want Alerts on Mobile, Vibes Launches Transactional Mobile Messaging

Because Consumers Want Alerts on Mobile, Vibes Launches Transactional Mobile Messaging

As it turns out, fresh mobile consumer data has revealed that 70 percent of consumers prefer to receive service-based messages on their mobile phones. In fact, 78 percent said text is “the fastest way to be reached for important service updates on purchases.” As a result, mobile marketer Vibes has launched a transactional messaging solution to […]