For those of you who are interested in the “numbers” and want to see how your favorite calling and messaging apps faired this year, the folks at GlobalWebIndex have provided all the information we need to know which apps have done the best in 2014: Tencent’s WeChat and Snapchat.

Despite all of the privacy issues surrounding it that have been plaguing Snapchat since the start of the year, the app has proved to be resilient in its growth, keeping pace among the top apps thanks to teens, mostly residing in these five countries.

Snapchat’s growth is driven by heavy adoption rates among young users

Citizens in those same countries are also responsible for the app’s latest growth spurt in the earliest parts of this year. Between Q1 and Q3 2014, Snapchat’s audience rose by 56 percent, again being driven by heavy adoption rates among young users in their teens or early twenties. This growth shows that Snapchat can not only gain new users but also retain existing users even with the aforementioned security problems associated with it.

Of course, there were other winners here as well, including Facebook Messenger, whose audience grew by 52 percent, and LINE, which saw a 44 percent increase. Of course, in Facebook Messenger’s case, forcing users to adopt an app is hardly cause to celebrate any kind of growth.

Nearly a quarter of the world’s internet users (23 percent) aged 16-64 are now using WeChat

Then there’s WeChat. WeChat is enjoying a particularly high penetration rate within the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region. Nearly a quarter of the world’s internet users (23 percent) aged 16-64 are now using WeChat on a regular basis, with the figure just short of 40 percent (standing at 39 percent) in Asia Pacific alone. WeChat’s audience numbers rocketed by 500% in Singapore, by 1,200% in Malaysia and a whopping 2,350% in India. Close to a quarter of adult internet users in India are now using the app.

Compared to Facebook Messenger or Facebook-owned WhatsApp, WeChat’s user base has a younger age profile – with a higher share of its users drawn from the key 16-24 group. Other top applications include Microsoft’s Skype and Rakuten’s Viber.

With the success of all these applications, messaging has never been a more popular industry, and that “messaging bubble” that so many had predicted doesn’t look to be on the verge of popping any time soon, if indeed it exists at all.

Which messaging app is your favorite? Share your answer with us in the comments below!

After launching location-based filters in mid-July to limited markets, Snapchat has just announced the debut of its Community Geofilters feature, which lets any user create their own filter for any given location. You’ll also be able to share these Geofilters with your friends.

Snapchat made the announcement this morning:

“Recently, we’ve had more and more Snapchatters ask us to help them create their own Geofilters – for marriage proposals, favorite cities, and even birthday parties!

“Today we’re thrilled to announce our Community Geofilter website. Now it’s easy to draw a little piece of art and put it somewhere meaningful to you and your friends. We can’t wait to decorate the world with our Community Geofilters – just in time for the holidays!”

Geofilters are special overlays for Snaps that can only be accessed in certain locations. Snapchat says taht “artists and designers are encouraged to use this tool to bring their one-of-a-kind style to the Snapchat community.” Simply choose the geographic area you want your filter to be available in and upload an image.

Of course, all images must be original artwork and have to be approved by the Snapchat team.

Ready to get started? Check out the new community filter site here. You’ll also want to make sure you have the latest version of Snapchat downloaded on your device.

What do you think of Snapchat’s latest feature?

Easy Taxi and WeChat have been working together for awhile now. The two firms partnered in Singapore this past summer to launch integration between the Easy Taxi cab service and WeChat, allowing users to more easily book cab rides in the country, an integration that saw quite a bit of success. WeChat and Easy Taxi hope to continue this success with the new launch of the integration in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

“We are happy to renew our partnership with WeChat, benefitting our users in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. The move further supports our regional footprint, and the synergies between both apps will allow for a greater mobility among smartphone users in our partner cities,” said Jianggan Li, Managing Director of Easy Taxi Singapore.

“The response we have had in Singapore was quite overwhelming”

“The response we have had in Singapore was quite overwhelming, and we wanted to offer the same privilege to our users outside of the island-nation,” added Poshu Yeung, Vice President of International Business Group at Tencent, the company behind the WeChat app.

Similar to Singapore, new users can easily download the WeChat app to Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone devices, and then follow Easy Taxi’s official WeChat account (Malaysia: easytaximy; Thailand: EasyTaxiThailand; the Philippines: EasyTaxi_PH) to be able to use the taxi booking function.

WeChat says the announcement is expected to boost taxi bookings in the three countries, as passengers can look forward to exciting deals and promotions only for WeChat and Easy Taxi users.

In Malaysia, WeChat users who book their taxi through the app are entitled to RM 15 off their ride when using Easy Taxi Pay. Users will have to click on the “promo” tab to receive their discount. Thailand, on the other hand, offers users 30THB discount via promo code for every ride (limited to the first 200 users). WeChat and Easy Taxi in the Philippines have a special promo car. Users can book Easy Taxi through the WeChat app and get a chance to win a free ride.

If you live in any of these countries and want to make booking a cab a lot easier, download WeChat onto your favorite device and follow one of the above accounts to get started.

As if we thought the messaging field didn’t have enough players, now there’s another one kicking its ball into the fray.

The Wire messaging app has just launched today and is backed by Iconical and was founded by the same pioneers behind Microsoft’s Skype, a company that was purchased by Redmond back in 2011.

So what sets Wire apart from the massive amounts of competition?

Well, according to Wire, the app improves the messaging experience by combining a wide array of media formats into a single app. Wire supports one-to-one and group conversations. The conversations can contain pictures, links, SoundCloud music, and YouTube videos — all of which are displayed inline with Wire’s seamless interface.

The company focuses on three different things with Wire, according to the company’s CEO Jonathan Christensen:

Fidelity – Your conversations are valuable, memorable and indispensable. This fidelity should be preserved and presented in an immersive way. We engineered Wire for the latest devices, including the iPhone 6, retina iPads, and latest Android phones. Photos you share in Wire conversations display beautifully inline, with high resolution. Music from SoundCloud and videos from YouTube blend nicely with text and pictures.

Modality – Wire allows easily moving from text and pictures to HD voice. Our calling, engineered by some of the most renowned minds in internet audio, delivers a crisp and clear experience. It is as if the person you are speaking with is right there, with you. Wire accommodates better, more beautiful conversations without compromising simplicity — it is at the heart of how we think about interface design.

Platforms – We have built native, high-performance apps. Today, Wire is available on the App Store and Play Store for iOS, Android and OS X. A version for browsers is coming soon. Wire’s cloud architecture ensures conversations are in sync, across all devices with the same look and feel.

In addition, the app doubles as a phone and can connect HD voice calls between Wire users.

On paper, it sounds very similar to Voxox, an app that also combines a number of these different features across platforms. Unfortunately, Wire is notably absent on the Windows Phone platform as well as Windows PCs and tablets, which means you’ll likely be best suited with another option until all major platforms are supported.

Wire is available for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play Store, and OS X App store and syncs across platforms and devices instantly. There’s also a browser version coming soon.

Kik Messenger continues to be one of the most popular applications among teens and early 20’s users and it experienced a difference in usage over the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

Kik revealed data today that showed high usage during two points of a normal day (in this case, November 4, 2014): when users were waking up and checking in with friends and higher usage as people were settling down for the day and saying “goodnight.” The other times in the day were spent by a majority of users in school.

This data becomes noticeably skewed on Thanksgiving: as can be seen in the following graph:

Says Kik:

“When we looked at data from across the country by time zone, we found that people in Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Tennessee were the first to start their Thanksgiving festivities, while those in Washington, D.C., Michigan, California, and Florida started later in the day.

This can be seen in the following Tableau chart:

So what does this mean? Well for users, it means turkey and ham was more important than engaging with their friends on Kik. For brands, it gives a little insight into the best times to engage with their users, particularly during the high usage points in the evenings.

Kik is available on Android, Windows Phone, and iOS.

LINE app will soon be receiving another standalone app in its arsenal in the form of LINE Pay, which is planned for global availability on iPhone and Android.

First revealed back in October, the LINE Pay is available in the new version 4.8 of the popular messaging application and provides users a more convenient way to pay for goods and services that rivals Square and other mobile payment services. Users will also be able to send money to each other in Western Union-like fashion, something that is rumored to be coming out of Facebook as well. This feature is not yet enabled, but is planned to be coming from LINE in the future, along with payments as a means of financial settlements.

Users will be able to send money in Western Union-like fashion

LINE Pay is a mobile payment service that lets over 170 million monthly active LINE users make payments for affiliated services or at affiliated shops regardless of their carrier or OS (again, as long as it’s iOS and Android).

To use the service, you can register your credit card and purchase a variety of paid content such as LINE stickers for both LINE and LINE games, as well as additional LINE family apps. Purchases using LINE Pay can be made through the LINE Store at https://store.line.me.

LINE will also be celebrating the global release of LINE Pay by offering a 25% bonus for a limited time on all charges made via LINE Pay in the LINE Store. More promotions and upgrades will await the service in the future.

As far as security goes, LINE Pay requires a separate and exclusive password from the main messaging application. Also, when using payment and other money-transferring features, logging into LINE Pay on a new device, or if the user has changed their device for some other reason, the user must enter their LINE Pay-exclusive password, preventing the LINE Pay features from being used even if a LINE account is logged in to by a third party.

LINE utilizes a monitoring system to detect and report accounts that are suspected of illicit activity

This means you’ll have to verify your LINE account on their smartphones each time even when making payments on the PC site, which will make it more difficult for an unauthorized third party to fraudulently use the service. On iPhone devices, Apple Touch ID verification is also used, and smartphone verification is required when using the PC site.

Finally, LINE also utilizes a monitoring system to detect and report accounts that are suspected of illicit activity and will work to ensure a safe and secure payment service for its users. LINE Pay will comply with the standards of Japan’s financial institutions and the LINE Pay Corporation will manage its service to ensure the financial security of all of its users.

Waiting for LINE Pay? Be sure todownload the latest version of the LINE app here in preparation and leave your thoughts on the upcoming service in the comments below.

WeChat has just announced their collaboration with Lazada, a leading shopping destination in Southeast Asia.

As part of this new partnership, Lazada is launching an official WeChat account in Singapore. By subscribing to the account, WeChat users can get the latest news and promotions from Lazada, and shop via WeChat, pushing the app further into ecommerce.

Lazada is offering an exclusive discount for followers of their WeChat official account to their 12/12 sale, commencing on December 12 and lasting 24 hours. Night owls can log on in the early hours for special night promotions only available between 12am and 8am; whilst shoppers can take advantage of bargain prices with unbeatable hourly flash sales from 8am – 11.59pm Singapore time.

To receive these discounts, simply:

• Follow Lazada on their official WeChat account (WeChat ID: LazadaSG)
• Copy the voucher code found on Lazada’s WeChat account to use when checking out your purchase on Lazada.SG

“Online and mobile shopping options are becoming increasingly popular and important to consumers in this region. GlobalWebIndex’s recent study revealed 70 percent of Singaporeans surveyed have bought a product online in the past month,” said Poshu Yeung, Vice President of International Business Group at Tencent, the company behind the WeChat app. “The potential for online and mobile retailing is unprecedented. We are very excited to work together with renowned labels such as Lazada and to provide WeChat fans with an unparalleled shopping experience through this partnership.”

“Online and mobile shopping options are becoming increasingly popular and important to consumers”

Martell Hardenberg, CEO of Lazada Singapore said, “With over 50 percent of our traffic coming in from our mobile platforms, we are constantly looking for ways to enhance our customers’ mobile experience. WeChat has been evolving to encompass services beyond that of a simple messaging platform, and we are thrilled to come on board and add to this diverse experience WeChat is crafting around its users.”

These discounts are available to users of the WeChat app on Android, iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone devices, making WeChat one of the few calling and messaging apps that are offering truly cross-platform features and deals to its users. To take advantage of these deals and follow Lazada, you can download WeChat here. Be sure to follow TruTower using the QR code on the right to stay up to date on the latest WeChat news via your favorite device.

After launching on Windows Phone way back in March and then on Android the following month, there have been rumors and questions regarding the app’s availability on iOS and when/if that would be.

This past weekend marked the beginning of that availability for iPhone users, giving them access to schmoose‘s secure and private messaging features.

schmoose uses open standard technology for end-to-end encryption (AES-256, SHA-256, RSA with key size of 2048 bits) to help its users’ stay private. With the OpenPGP standard in place, schmoose provides the ready environment for you to conduct “truly private communication”. Data is only exchanged using a secure line (128-bit TLS 1.2). Not even schmoose themselves have access to user messages.

In this day and age, privacy in calling and messaging apps is a pretty big deal and apps like schmoose are there to provide such privacy. You can find more apps for privacy here.

The new schmoose app for iOS can be downloaded right now via iTunes.

The BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) Shop has been revamped today for Android, iOS, and BlackBerry 10, giving the storefront a new look that makes browsing for those BBM stickers easier and also provides some new features.

These new features include a “BBM Top Picks” section, where apps, games, music and services are available for download or purchase to “enhance” the BBM application experience.

BlackBerry announced the changes today, and also pointed out that Android users can download simplified keyboard applications such as Zimpl (available in English or Bahasa) that make messaging easier on the app.

Android users can download simplified keyboard applications

“Zimpl is all about productivity and communicating with ease, values we believe to share with many BBM users,” said Charlotta Tönsgård, member on the Board of Directors for Zimpl Technologies AB. “Cutting through all the noise on the app market is a big challenge for start-ups like Zimpl as well as for the end-user. Stores with carefully curated content like the one offered by BBM is a great way to address this problem”.

To celebrate the change, you can look forward to a sale on stickers starting on Dec. 9th at 12:01am EST that will reduce the stickers to about half price to $0.99 USD. BlackBerry says the sale will be going for a limited time, after which the prices will revert to their former $1.99 tags.

What do you think of the redesign? Post your thoughts in the comments. If you don’t yet have BBM for your favorite device, download it here.

After showing strong growth on Windows Phone and a look at future expansion to BlackBerry 10, it’s hard not to notice Telegram Messenger, but now the company has revealed a new milestone.

Telegram’s team has revealed via blog post that “over 1 billion messages are delivered daily” using the application on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. In addition, the popular messaging application now has 50 million active users, and is “adding 1 million new signups each week.”

This isn’t bad for an app that didn’t exist a year and a half ago, especially in light of so much competition in the messaging industry and after spending a grand total of zero dollars in advertising.

While it may be a far cry from WhatsApp’s 600 million, Facebook Messenger’s 500 millionWeChat’s 468.1 million active users, it’s still an accomplishment well worth celebrating.

Congratulations to the Telegram Messenger team on reaching this milestone. If you haven’t already you can download Telegram Messenger for your favorite mobile platform here.

Stickers have become something of a standard with messaging apps nowadays. They’re used to express emotion in place of emoticons and emoji. They’re also used as marketing tools for companies, such as the case with Sonic the Hedgehog’s recent appearance on BBM.

Now Nimbuzz has partnered with mobile app and keyboard maker Hi-Art to bring selected sticker packs to Nimbuzz’s N-World store:

• Tell that special someone how you feel with stickers from the Endless Love sticker pack
• Use the crazy Green Faces sticker pack to tell everyone that you’re having way too much fun
• Make your friends LOL and OMG with illustrated internet Chat Slangs sticker pack!
• Let the art speak for you with Fadeproof sticker pack
• Smokin’, drinkin’, chillin’ – the turnip is turning it up in the Turn up sticker pack

These new sticker packs are now available in N-World on all major mobile platforms. Best of all, the stickers themselves are free.

Kik Messenger is evolving much like many other messengers are, becoming full entertainment platforms that offer more than just a way to communicate. Kik Cards were one step in this evolutionary process and now Kik is introducing another in the form of Kik Points.

Kik Points, announced today, allow you to earn rewards from inside the Kik application and redeem them for in-app items. These items include only limited edition emoticons / smileys for now, but Kik says that more redeemable items will be added as the new year begins.

more redeemable items will be added as the new year begins

You can earn Kik Points by completing special Kik Points offers that change on a daily basis and range from visiting websites, taking surveys, playing games, or checking out one of Kik’s parters’ services. This type of system is very similar to one used by social networks such as MeetMe. The bigger the offer, the more points you’ll earn.

You’ll also get the chance to play a daily spin-to-win game that could net you some free Kik Points or smileys. You can access the Smiley Shop by tapping the “:)” emoticon in a chat and then tapping the plus “+” icon in the bottom right corner.

Unfortunately, Windows Phone users have to miss out on the Smileys and Kik Points, as Kik hasn’t updated that app since 2011. However, great alternatives that do have full emoticon, sticker, and feature support on that platform include BBM, Viber, and LINE.

Viber has launched a new gaming platform for its popular messaging and calling application, marking the third major release for Viber in three months, following the addition of Mobile Video Calls and Viber Public Chats, as well as numerous other features.

Viber has partnered with a number of leading game developers to bring unique gaming experiences to the platform featuring Viber characters and exclusive content. Viber Games is now available in Belarus, Malaysia, Israel, Singapore and the Ukraine and will be rolled out to the rest of the world in a staggered release.

The launch line-up features Viber Candy Mania and Viber Pop from leading mobile game network Storm8 and Wild Luck Casino from leading casual games developer, Playtika. The games were built using the Viber Connect API, which allows users to sign in with their Viber ID to connect with their friends and contacts on Viber, send them gifts and brag about their achievements. Additionally, users will be able to send game invites via Viber, and see what games their friends are currently playing.

The games will be promoted via the Games section and will be free to download via Google Play and the App Store. Access to additional features will be available via in-app purchases.

“We have been focusing on broadening the functionality of Viber and are really excited to unveil Viber Games”

“We have been focusing on broadening the functionality of Viber and are really excited to unveil Viber Games,” said Talmon Marco, Viber CEO. This major expansion of our platform gives people another completely new way to connect with Viber. It’s an important step for us and we are looking forward to the response from our users.”

Viber Games will take on the Viber brand look and feel, and feature many of the characters that have already become popular staples of Viber’s Sticker Market, giving the games a unique look and feel when compared to LINE Games, Tango Games, and games from other messaging apps.

“As a pioneering leader in mobile social games, we’re committed to partnering with companies that expand our reach and provide innovative player experiences,” said Terence Fung, Storm8 Chief Strategy Officer. “We’re delighted to be a launch partner for Viber Games, debuting two new Storm8 titles that bring to life Viber’s popular characters and offer a new level of social interaction among friends.”

“This partnership opens up a new channel for Playtika to introduce our world-renowned social slots to Viber users via a new game we developed specifically for Viber – Wild Luck Casino,” said Elad Kushnir, VP of Business Development at Playtika. “We are excited to take advantage of Viber’s existing communication channels to add another layer to the game experience.”

Three games will be available at launch:

• Viber Candy Mania by Storm8 – Sweeten your day with a delightful new game! Follow Viber’s popular sticker characters Violet and Legcat through the levels, as you match and collect candies in this sugar-filled puzzle adventure.
• Viber Pop by Storm8 – The best bubble puzzle adventure game yet! Defeat the Evil Bubble Wizard and rescue little buddies. And, for the first time ever, you can play with your favorite Viber character, Legcat!
• Wild Luck Casino by Playtika – From the makers of Slotomania, an authentic slots experience is at your fingertips with an exciting range of games to choose from. Play with your friends to win free coins and prizes, then share the good vibes by sending gifts.

Additionally, Viber Games will provide users with multiple new ways to interact via Viber, including:

• Gift sending: Send gifts to your Viber friends; receive rewards for the more gifts you send
• Leaderboards: See how your scores stack up versus your Viber friends’
• Invite friends: Invite your Viber friends to download the games to play with you
• Bragging: Tell your friends when you beat their high scores
• Friend progression: See what levels your friends have reached in the game
• See what games your friends are currently playing.

Viber Games is expected to be available worldwide by January 2015, with more games added to the line-up soon after.

UppTalk which recently launched UppMobile in Spain, has been acquired by Spanish telecommunications provider MasMovil Ibercom and investment fund Inveready Seed Capital for an undisclosed amount, the latest in a series of acquisitions of messaging apps by telecoms providers.

Under the terms of the agreement, Inveready will own 51 percent of the assets and MasMovil 49 percent. The deal with UppTalk (formerly Yuilop) also includes its UK and US assets including the UppWireless VoIP-focused venture launched earlier in the year.

MasMovil already acted as the enabler for UppMobile’s all-IP SIM-based service in Spain and it moved to acquire UppTalk’s assets after it filed for bankruptcy in October.

UppTalk was hailed “Fastest Rising Startup” at the European Tech Startup Awards back in June after it initially launched its VoIP service in January with UppMobile following shortly after.

The acquisition also follows GENBAND’s acquisition of fring, Facebook’s acquision of WhatsApp, and Rakuten’s acquisition of Viber, among others.

UppTalk’s app can be found on most major mobile operating systems.

After launching Kik Points as a way to earn freebies, Kik Interactive, Inc. is showing no signs of letting up when it comes to new feature launches. The company has just announced the availability of hashtags for group chats.

According to Kik, group chats are one of the app’s most popular features:

More than 40 percent of Kik users chat in groups, and with 300,000 new groups created every day, it’s safe to say that this feature is super important for our users! That’s not a huge surprise, since groups on Kik let you chat and share with different sets of friends on a topic or interest, just like you can on social media sites.

To enhance the ability to engage in group chats, the hashtags feature, launched today, will allows users to create “mini social networks” in order to stay connected to what interests them most and what topics they would like to discuss.

“At Kik, we’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be social,” said Kik CEO Ted Livingston. “We believe that one of the key things is being able to play different roles with different groups of friends. That’s just fundamental to our way of life.”

He added:

“Hashtags on Kik allow you to spin up your own chat rooms in a matter of seconds. Want to create a mobile chat room for your family? #livingstonfamilychat. Want to create a chat room for your work friends? #kikemployees. Want to create a chat room for your dodgeball team? #waterloododgeball. You no longer have to manually add everyone to a group chat?—?you just yell out a hashtag and people can add themselves.”

To try out the hashtags feature for yourself, make sure you’ve updated to the latest version of Kik. What do you think of the new feature?

Fans of Underdog, NBC’s animated television series that debuted October 3, 1964 and continued with new episodes until 1967, will appreciate the little bit of nostalgia that has hit BBM today with the new Underdog BBM sticker set.

The set, shown at left, runs at $0.99 thanks to a limited-time sticker price drop , so you’ll want to grab them quick before they go up to $1.99, which is the standard price for BBM Stickers once the price goes back up.

Like stickers available on many other messaging platforms, BBM stickers not only provide a way for BlackBerry to monetize its app, but also provide ways for users to communicate and show off some of their favorite characters.

Some of the newest additions to the BBM Shop include Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Sonic the Hedgehog, Garfield, and Mickey Mouse, among others.

The new BBM Stickers are available on iOS, Android, BlackBerry 10, and now even on Windows Phone as of today. Be sure to grab the latest BBM update here if you haven’t already.

A little over a week ago, we received word that LINE Pay was launching on the popular social platform, but it wasn’t quite ready for prime time. As of today, however, the payment system is now live.

LINE Pay is meant to strengthen the LINE social app‘s ecosystem. The company describes the service:

users can register their credit cards and purchase a variety of paid content such as LINE stickers

LINE Pay is a mobile payment service that lets over 170 million monthly active LINE users (on iPhone or Android) make payments for affiliated services or at affiliated shops in an easy and convenient way, regardless of their carrier or OS. Starting from today, as part of the first step of the service, users can register their credit cards and purchase a variety of paid content such as LINE stickers for both LINE and LINE family apps through the LINE Store (https://store.line.me). To celebrate the release of LINE Pay, for a limited time all charges on the LINE Store made through LINE Pay payment will receive up to a 25% bonus added to their balance.

Unfortunately, it looks like only iOS and Android users are supported; Windows Phone users will have to use another payment option like their phone bill or PayPal.

While a lucky few have been able to download the latest edition of Line (version 4.8.0) on a fully updated iPhone (version 8.1.2, iPhone 6). LINE does caution that the full rollout could take up to one month, but the company makes it very clear that LINE Pay comes packaged with the latest version of the app, so if you’re not yet seeing the option, you should see it soon.

In addition to LINE Pay, you’ll also be able to see when your LINE friends are typing with a new “…” message added in the latest version that echoes of similar features from Kik Messenger or WhatsApp. This feature is only available in 1-on-1 chats, and your friends need to be registered in a region that supports this feature and also be using LINE version 4.8.0 or higher. LINE says this feature, too, will be rolled out gradually to users of LINE version 4.8.0 or higher:

Please be patient as we prepare to make it available on your smartphone soon.

Get the latest version of LINE to take advantage of LINE Pay.

Not too long ago, KakaoTalk was updated for Android and added a new one-on-one secret chat feature that’s not yet available to group chats. Today, that same feature has rolled out to Apple iPhone devices.

The new secret chat feature allows users to chat with each other while keeping their messages encrypted, secure, and free of interception by third parties, a feature that has become more common with many messaging apps lately.

Like the aforementioned Android update, the Secret Chat feature for iOS will only work with one-on-one chats, but could roll out to group chats at some point in the future, likely within the first three months of next year according to KakaoTalk.

The update also includes support for the new resolutions of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Of course, this isn’t the only change that’s come to KakaoTalk. The update also includes support for the new resolutions of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, bug fixes, and also the ability for users to decline being re-invited back to group chat rooms.

There’s no word yet on when this will roll out to the newly released KakaoTalk for Windows Phone 8.1.

You can find the new KakaoTalk in iTunes. What do you think of the new chat feature?

Just in time for the holiday season, Tango is announcing some great new additions to its Tango Music Pix standalone video app to help you share all of the fun you’ll be having this holiday with your family and friends.

Starting this coming Saturday, December 20, when you’re creating your montage videos, you’ll be presented with a plethora of new editing tools and options that will help your Music Pix videos leave a lasting impression. You’ll also be able to share those videos with all of your friends on social networks such as Instagram and Vine.

The update includes a plethora of new editing tools to help you leave a lasting impression

Forthcoming features to the first major update for Tango’s first-ever standalone app include:

• Video editing capabilities provide users more options on how to compose their video, including: color filters, text options, sort options and cropping.
• Users can also directly share their videos on different social media apps like Instagram, and Vine.
• The new camera feature allows users to take photos within the app and instantly create Music Pix videos.
• New mood selection capabilities let users set the perfect mood for their video.
• Mood screens help users quickly zero into the music they want for their video including Happy, Action, Love, Party, Celebration, Children, Classic, Chill, Memory Lane, and Christmas.

If you haven’t used it before, Tango Music Pix, which was launched back in September, lets you create 30-second videos using photos from your smartphone gallery and select a tune to add to the video from over 2 million songs. You can then share these videos with your friends and family.

Try Tango Music Pix out and get ready for this Saturday’s update by downloading the app via iTunes or Google Play. Be sure to grab the latest Tango update for your device as well.

Stockholm-based communications platform Sinch announced today that they are launching their new SMS API worldwide, enabling any developer to easily add social features into their apps and websites. Sinch says the integration can be done “in minutes using only a few lines of code.” The integration will allow users to send text messages and will also provide a way for devs to send download links, app notifications, discount offers or promo codes.

Sinch says the new API is designed to be low cost, easy and seamless, allowing developers to sidestep the usual issues with launching SMS capability, including having to make deals with SMS termination providers and then have to manage everything themselves. Many small developers lack the resources to be able to take on such a venture and often lose out to larger companies that do.

Sinch says it stands apart from other services like Twilio and Nexmo with the simplest and most affordable way to create a powerful in-app communications experience.

“the big idea around in-app communications is to help reduce friction and offer a more compelling experience”

New features of the Sinch voice and messaging platform include:

• Notifications: Notify your customers or users (including those who don’t have your app installed) instantly without relying on push notifications.
• Two-factor authentication and account verification: Send an SMS with a unique code to verify user account information.
• Marketing campaigns: Send messages and promotions to your customers via SMS.
• Drive downloads: Remove friction and add an option for your users to enter their mobile number on your website and receive an SMS with a download link to your app.

“Whether you’re a travel destination site that wants to power a better customer experience on mobile or a retailer looking to send a compelling offer or discount, the big idea around in-app communications is to help reduce friction and offer a more compelling experience so your users don’t have to jump through unnecessary hoops or leave your app to accomplish what they want,” said Andreas Bernström, CEO of Sinch.

Mobile-first communications platform surpasses 4 billion minutes in calls connected since inception
Since its launch in May, Sinch developer sign ups have increased by 25 percent month over month, and the company is projecting to have more than 6,000 developers signed up by end of year. The company is also announcing having passed a new milestone of more than 4 billion minutes in calls connected since inception and projects it will be adding 750 developer signups a week by the end of 2015.

Some of the early use cases have targeted developers in a broad range of app categories including travel, communications, dating, gaming, social networking, commerce and finance.

The company also announced the signing of several new customers including Swedbank, one of the largest banks in Sweden with more than 9.5 million retail customers and 600,000 corporate accounts, which is now using Sinch to send fleet management notifications to the 15,000 drivers of its company cars.

“The Sinch SMS API was really easy to implement and did just what I needed,” said Robert Bergman, head of fleet management at Swedbank.

Spun out of VoIP giant Rebtel with $12 million in funding back in May, Sinch provides developers worldwide with all the tools they need to capitalize on the massive demand among consumers for app-to-app, app-to-phone, and web-based calling and messaging.

“new features can be added [to apps] quickly and securely”

“We’re in a great position to help developers take advantage of huge time and cost savings while implementing a much needed communication layer into their offerings,” said Daniel Forsman, COO of Sinch. “Sinch takes all the hassle out of the integration process, so new features can be added quickly and securely. By implementing new communication features, not only can developers create richer apps, they can help drive up active users and time spent within their products.”

If you’re a developer, you can find out more information at www.sinch.com and can also find pricing in this article as well as a messaging tutorial via the embedded video above.