<s>
Comparison	B-Application
of	I-Application
user	I-Application
features	I-Application
of	I-Application
messaging	I-Application
platforms	I-Application
refers	O
to	O
a	O
comparison	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
various	O
user	O
features	O
of	O
various	O
electronic	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
includes	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
resources	O
;	O
it	O
includes	O
standalone	O
apps	O
,	O
platforms	O
within	O
websites	O
,	O
computer	O
software	O
,	O
and	O
various	O
internal	O
functions	O
available	O
on	O
specific	O
devices	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
iMessage	O
for	O
iPhones	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
technology	O
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
online	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
that	O
offers	O
real-time	O
text	B-Application
transmission	O
over	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
LAN	B-Protocol
messenger	I-Protocol
operates	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
way	O
over	O
a	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Short	O
messages	B-Protocol
are	O
typically	O
transmitted	O
between	O
two	O
parties	O
when	O
each	O
user	O
chooses	O
to	O
complete	O
a	O
thought	O
and	O
select	O
"	O
send	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
IM	O
applications	B-Application
can	O
use	O
push	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
to	O
provide	O
real-time	O
text	B-Application
,	O
which	O
transmits	O
messages	B-Protocol
character	O
by	O
character	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
are	O
composed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
advanced	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
can	O
add	O
file	B-Protocol
transfer	I-Protocol
,	O
clickable	O
hyperlinks	O
,	O
Voice	B-Application
over	I-Application
IP	I-Application
,	O
or	O
video	B-Application
chat	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Non-IM	O
types	O
of	O
chat	B-Application
include	O
multicast	O
transmission	O
,	O
usually	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
chat	B-Application
rooms	O
"	O
,	O
where	O
participants	O
might	O
be	O
anonymous	O
or	O
might	O
be	O
previously	O
known	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
collaborators	O
on	O
a	O
project	O
that	O
is	O
using	O
chat	B-Application
to	O
facilitate	O
communication	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
systems	O
tend	O
to	O
facilitate	O
connections	O
between	O
specified	O
known	O
users	O
(	O
often	O
using	O
a	O
contact	B-Protocol
list	I-Protocol
also	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
buddy	B-Protocol
list	I-Protocol
"	O
or	O
"	O
friend	B-Protocol
list	I-Protocol
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Depending	O
on	O
the	O
IM	O
protocol	O
,	O
the	O
technical	O
architecture	O
can	O
be	O
peer-to-peer	O
(	O
direct	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
transmission	O
)	O
or	O
client-server	B-Operating_System
(	O
an	O
Instant	B-Application
message	I-Application
service	I-Application
center	I-Application
retransmits	O
messages	B-Protocol
from	O
the	O
sender	O
to	O
the	O
communication	O
device	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2010	O
,	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
over	O
the	O
Web	O
was	O
in	O
sharp	O
decline	O
,	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
messaging	B-Protocol
features	O
on	O
social	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
popular	O
IM	O
platforms	O
were	O
terminated	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
AIM	B-Protocol
which	O
closed	O
down	O
and	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Live	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
which	O
merged	O
into	O
Skype	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
has	O
since	O
seen	O
a	O
revival	O
in	O
popularity	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
"	O
messaging	B-Application
apps	I-Application
"	O
(	O
usually	O
on	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
)	O
which	O
by	O
2014	O
had	O
more	O
users	O
than	O
social	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Facebook	B-Protocol
Chat	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Twitter	B-Application
can	O
be	O
thought	O
of	O
as	O
a	O
Web	O
2.0	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
server-side	O
chat	B-Application
features	O
are	O
part	O
of	O
most	O
dating	O
websites	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
OkCupid	B-Application
or	O
PlentyofFish	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
spread	O
of	O
smartphones	B-Application
and	O
similar	O
devices	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
2000s	O
also	O
caused	O
increased	O
competition	O
with	O
conventional	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
,	O
by	O
making	O
text	B-Device
messaging	I-Device
services	O
still	O
more	O
ubiquitous	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
services	O
offer	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
features	O
,	O
voice	B-Application
over	I-Application
IP	I-Application
and	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
services	O
can	O
integrate	O
both	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
and	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
abilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
companies	O
are	O
also	O
offering	O
desktop	B-Device
sharing	I-Device
,	O
IP	O
radio	O
,	O
and	O
IPTV	O
to	O
the	O
voice	B-Application
and	O
video	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
"	O
Instant	B-Application
Messenger	I-Application
"	O
is	O
a	O
service	O
mark	O
of	O
Time	O
Warner	O
and	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
software	O
not	O
affiliated	O
with	O
AOL	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
reason	O
,	O
in	O
April	O
2007	O
,	O
the	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
client	B-Protocol
formerly	O
named	O
Gaim	B-Protocol
(	O
or	O
gaim	B-Protocol
)	O
announced	O
that	O
they	O
would	O
be	O
renamed	O
"	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
2010s	O
,	O
more	O
people	O
started	O
to	O
use	O
messaging	B-Application
apps	I-Application
on	O
modern	O
computers	O
and	O
devices	O
like	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
WeChat	B-Application
,	O
Viber	B-Application
,	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
,	O
Telegram	B-Application
,	O
Signal	B-Application
and	O
Line	B-Application
rather	O
than	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
on	O
computers	O
like	O
AIM	B-Protocol
and	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Live	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
was	O
founded	O
in	O
2009	O
,	O
and	O
Facebook	B-Application
acquired	O
in	O
2014	O
,	O
by	O
which	O
time	O
it	O
already	O
had	O
half	O
a	O
billion	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Backchannel	O
is	O
the	O
practice	O
of	O
using	O
networked	O
computers	O
to	O
maintain	O
a	O
real-time	O
online	B-Protocol
conversation	I-Protocol
alongside	O
the	O
primary	O
group	O
activity	O
or	O
live	O
spoken	O
remarks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
"	O
backchannel	O
"	O
generally	O
refers	O
to	O
online	B-Protocol
conversation	I-Protocol
about	O
the	O
conference	O
topic	O
or	O
speaker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
First	O
growing	O
in	O
popularity	O
at	O
technology	O
conferences	O
,	O
backchannel	O
is	O
increasingly	O
a	O
factor	O
in	O
education	O
where	O
WiFi	O
connections	O
and	O
laptop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
allow	O
participants	O
to	O
use	O
ordinary	O
chat	B-Application
like	O
IRC	B-Protocol
or	O
AIM	B-Protocol
to	O
actively	O
communicate	O
during	O
presentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twitter	B-Application
is	O
also	O
widely	O
used	O
today	O
by	O
audiences	O
to	O
create	O
backchannels	O
during	O
broadcasting	O
of	O
content	O
or	O
at	O
conferences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
apps	O
which	O
have	O
a	O
large	O
amount	O
of	O
such	O
channels	O
available	O
are	O
Line	B-Application
and	O
Telegram	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Basic	O
platforms	O
which	O
are	O
common	O
across	O
entire	O
categories	O
of	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
,	O
computers	O
,	O
or	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
SMS	B-Device
(	O
short	O
message	O
service	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
text	B-Device
messaging	I-Device
service	O
component	O
of	O
most	O
telephone	O
,	O
Internet	O
,	O
and	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
uses	O
standardized	O
communication	O
protocols	O
to	O
enable	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
to	O
exchange	B-Protocol
short	O
text	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
intermediary	O
service	O
can	O
facilitate	O
a	O
text-to-voice	O
conversion	O
to	O
be	O
sent	O
to	O
landlines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SMS	B-Device
,	O
as	O
used	O
on	O
modern	O
devices	O
,	O
originated	O
from	O
radio	O
telegraphy	O
in	O
radio	O
memo	O
pagers	O
that	O
used	O
standardized	O
phone	O
protocols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
test	O
SMS	B-Device
message	O
was	O
sent	O
on	O
December	O
3	O
,	O
1992	O
,	O
when	O
Neil	O
Papwort	O
,	O
a	O
test	O
engineer	O
for	O
Sema	O
Group	O
,	O
used	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
to	O
send	O
"	O
Merry	O
Christmas	O
"	O
to	O
the	O
phone	O
of	O
colleague	O
Richard	O
Jarvis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SMS	B-Device
became	O
hugely	O
popular	O
worldwide	O
as	O
a	O
way	O
of	O
text	B-Application
communication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2010	O
,	O
SMS	B-Device
was	O
the	O
most	O
widely	O
used	O
data	O
application	B-Application
,	O
with	O
an	O
estimated	O
3.5	O
billion	O
active	O
users	O
,	O
or	O
about	O
80%	O
of	O
all	O
mobile	O
phone	O
subscribers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
protocols	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
messages	B-Protocol
of	O
up	O
to	O
160	O
characters	O
(	O
when	O
entirely	O
alpha-numeric	O
)	O
to	O
and	O
from	O
GSM	O
mobiles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
most	O
SMS	B-Device
messages	B-Protocol
are	O
sent	O
from	O
one	O
mobile	O
phone	O
to	O
another	O
,	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
service	O
has	O
expanded	O
to	O
include	O
other	O
mobile	O
technologies	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
ANSI	O
CDMA	O
networks	O
and	O
Digital	O
AMPS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mobile	O
marketing	O
,	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
direct	O
marketing	O
,	O
uses	O
SMS	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
a	O
2018	O
market	O
research	O
report	O
the	O
global	O
SMS	B-Device
messaging	B-Protocol
business	O
was	O
estimated	O
to	O
be	O
worth	O
over	O
US$100	O
billion	O
,	O
accounting	O
for	O
almost	O
50	O
percent	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
revenue	O
generated	O
by	O
mobile	O
messaging	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Flash	O
SMS	B-Device
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
SMS	B-Device
that	O
appears	O
directly	O
on	O
the	O
main	O
screen	O
without	O
user	O
interaction	O
and	O
is	O
not	O
automatically	O
stored	O
in	O
the	O
inbox	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Threaded	O
SMS	B-Device
is	O
a	O
visual	O
styling	O
orientation	O
of	O
SMS	B-Device
message	O
history	O
that	O
arranges	O
messages	B-Protocol
to	O
and	O
from	O
a	O
contact	O
in	O
chronological	O
order	O
on	O
a	O
single	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
first	O
invented	O
by	O
a	O
developer	O
working	O
to	O
implement	O
the	O
SMS	B-Device
client	B-Protocol
for	O
the	O
BlackBerry	B-Application
,	O
who	O
was	O
looking	O
to	O
make	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
blank	O
screen	O
left	O
below	O
the	O
message	O
on	O
a	O
device	O
with	O
a	O
larger	O
screen	O
capable	O
of	O
displaying	O
far	O
more	O
than	O
the	O
usual	O
160	O
characters	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
inspired	O
by	O
threaded	O
Reply	O
conversations	O
in	O
email	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Visually	O
,	O
this	O
style	O
of	O
representation	O
provides	O
a	O
back-and-forth	O
chat-like	O
history	O
for	O
each	O
individual	O
contact	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hierarchical-threading	O
at	O
the	O
conversation-level	O
(	O
as	O
typical	O
in	O
blogs	O
and	O
on-line	O
messaging	B-Protocol
boards	O
)	O
is	O
not	O
widely	O
supported	O
by	O
SMS	B-Device
messaging	B-Protocol
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
limitation	O
is	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
session	B-Protocol
identifier	I-Protocol
or	O
subject-line	O
passed	O
back	O
and	O
forth	O
between	O
sent	O
and	O
received	O
messages	B-Protocol
in	O
the	O
header	B-General_Concept
data	O
(	O
as	O
specified	O
by	O
SMS	B-Device
protocol	O
)	O
from	O
which	O
the	O
client	B-Protocol
device	O
can	O
properly	O
thread	O
an	O
incoming	O
message	O
to	O
a	O
specific	O
dialogue	O
,	O
or	O
even	O
to	O
a	O
specific	O
message	O
within	O
a	O
dialogue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
smart	B-Application
phone	I-Application
text-messaging-clients	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
create	O
some	O
contextual	O
threading	O
of	O
"	O
group	O
messages	B-Protocol
"	O
which	O
narrows	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
the	O
thread	O
around	O
the	O
common	O
interests	O
shared	O
by	O
group	O
members	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
advanced	O
enterprise	O
messaging	B-Protocol
applications	B-Application
that	O
push	O
messages	B-Protocol
from	O
a	O
remote	O
server	O
often	O
display	O
a	O
dynamically	O
changing	O
reply	O
number	O
(	O
multiple	O
numbers	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
same	O
sender	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
used	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
sender	O
's	O
phone	O
number	O
to	O
create	O
session-tracking	O
capabilities	O
analogous	O
to	O
the	O
functionality	O
that	O
cookies	B-Application
provide	O
for	O
web-browsing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
one	O
pervasive	O
example	O
,	O
this	O
technique	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
extend	O
the	O
functionality	O
of	O
many	O
Instant	B-Application
Messenger	I-Application
(	O
IM	O
)	O
applications	B-Application
such	O
that	O
they	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
communicate	O
over	O
two-way	O
dialogues	O
with	O
the	O
much	O
larger	O
SMS	B-Device
user-base	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
cases	O
where	O
multiple	O
reply	O
numbers	O
are	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
enterprise	O
server	O
to	O
maintain	O
the	O
dialogue	O
,	O
the	O
visual	O
conversation	O
threading	O
on	O
the	O
client	B-Protocol
may	O
be	O
separated	O
into	O
multiple	O
threads	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multimedia	O
Messaging	B-Application
Service	I-Application
(	O
MMS	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
standard	O
way	O
to	O
send	O
messages	B-Protocol
that	O
include	O
multimedia	O
content	O
to	O
and	O
from	O
a	O
mobile	O
phone	O
over	O
a	O
cellular	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MMS	O
standard	O
extends	O
the	O
core	O
SMS	B-Device
(	O
Short	O
Message	O
Service	O
)	O
capability	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
exchange	B-Protocol
of	O
text	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
greater	O
than	O
160	O
characters	O
in	O
length	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
text-only	O
SMS	B-Device
,	O
MMS	O
can	O
deliver	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
media	O
,	O
including	O
up	O
to	O
forty	O
seconds	O
of	O
video	O
,	O
one	O
image	O
,	O
a	O
slideshow	O
of	O
multiple	O
images	O
,	O
or	O
audio	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
3GPP	O
and	O
WAP	B-Protocol
groups	O
fostered	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
MMS	O
standard	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
now	O
continued	O
by	O
the	O
Open	O
Mobile	O
Alliance	O
(	O
OMA	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
MMS	O
architecture	O
,	O
the	O
recipient	O
MMSC	O
is	O
responsible	O
for	O
providing	O
for	O
content	O
adaptation	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
image	O
resizing	O
,	O
audio	O
codec	B-General_Concept
transcoding	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rich	O
Communication	O
Services	O
(	O
RCS	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
communication	O
protocol	O
between	O
mobile	O
telephone	O
carriers	O
and	O
between	O
phone	O
and	O
carrier	O
,	O
aiming	O
at	O
replacing	O
SMS	B-Device
messages	B-Protocol
with	O
a	O
text-message	O
system	O
that	O
is	O
richer	O
,	O
provides	O
phonebook	O
polling	O
(	O
for	O
service	O
discovery	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
transmit	O
in-call	O
multimedia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
part	O
of	O
broader	O
IP	B-Protocol
Multimedia	I-Protocol
Subsystem	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
marketed	O
as	O
Advanced	O
Messaging	B-Protocol
,	O
Chat	B-Application
,	O
joyn	O
,	O
SMSoIP	O
,	O
Message+	O
,	O
and	O
SMS+	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Concerns	O
were	O
shown	O
over	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
decision	O
to	O
run	O
its	O
own	O
RCS	O
service	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
possibility	O
of	O
antitrust	O
scrutiny	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
acknowledged	O
that	O
Google	B-Application
had	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
bypass	O
the	O
carriers	O
 '	O
inconsistent	O
support	O
of	O
RCS	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
wanted	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
service	O
more	O
comparable	O
to	O
Apple	O
's	O
iMessage	O
service	O
available	O
on	O
Android	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ars	O
Technica	O
also	O
criticized	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
move	O
to	O
launch	O
a	O
direct-to-consumer	O
RCS	O
service	O
,	O
considering	O
it	O
a	O
contradiction	O
of	O
RCS	O
being	O
native	O
to	O
the	O
carrier	O
to	O
provide	O
features	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
messaging	B-Application
apps	I-Application
,	O
counting	O
it	O
as	O
being	O
among	O
various	O
past	O
and	O
unsuccessful	O
attempts	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
to	O
develop	O
an	O
in-house	O
messaging	B-Application
service	I-Application
(	O
including	O
Google	B-Application
Talk	I-Application
,	O
Google+	B-Application
Messenger	B-Protocol
,	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
Allo	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
and	O
noting	O
limitations	O
such	O
as	O
its	O
dependencies	O
on	O
phone	O
numbers	O
as	O
the	O
identity	O
,	O
not	O
being	O
capable	O
of	O
being	O
readily	O
synchronized	O
between	O
multiple	O
devices	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
aforementioned	O
lack	O
of	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2020	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
begin	O
to	O
introduce	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
in	O
beta	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Protocol
Relay	I-Protocol
Chat	I-Protocol
(	O
IRC	B-Protocol
)	O
is	O
an	O
application	B-Application
layer	I-Application
protocol	O
that	O
facilitates	O
communication	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
text	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
chat	B-Application
process	O
works	O
on	O
a	O
client/server	B-Operating_System
networking	O
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IRC	B-Protocol
clients	O
are	O
computer	O
programs	O
that	O
users	O
can	O
install	O
on	O
their	O
system	O
or	O
web	O
based	O
applications	B-Application
running	O
either	O
locally	O
in	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
or	O
on	O
a	O
third	O
party	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
clients	O
communicate	O
with	O
chat	B-Application
servers	O
to	O
transfer	O
messages	B-Protocol
to	O
other	O
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IRC	B-Protocol
is	O
mainly	O
designed	O
for	O
group	B-Architecture
communication	I-Architecture
in	O
discussion	O
forums	O
,	O
called	O
channels	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
allows	O
one-on-one	O
communication	O
via	O
private	B-Application
messages	I-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
chat	B-Application
and	O
data	O
transfer	O
,	O
including	O
file	O
sharing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Client	B-Protocol
software	I-Protocol
is	O
available	O
for	O
every	O
major	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
that	O
supports	O
Internet	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
April	O
2011	O
,	O
the	O
top	O
100	O
IRC	B-Protocol
networks	I-Protocol
served	O
more	O
than	O
half	O
a	O
million	O
users	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
,	O
with	O
hundreds	O
of	O
thousands	O
of	O
channels	O
operating	O
on	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
roughly	O
1,500	O
servers	O
out	O
of	O
roughly	O
3,200	O
servers	O
worldwide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IRC	B-Protocol
usage	O
has	O
been	O
declining	O
steadily	O
since	O
2003	O
,	O
losing	O
60%	O
of	O
its	O
users	O
(	O
from	O
1	O
million	O
to	O
about	O
400,000	O
in	O
2012	O
)	O
and	O
half	O
of	O
its	O
channels	O
(	O
from	O
half	O
a	O
million	O
in	O
2003	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IRC	B-Protocol
has	O
changed	O
much	O
over	O
its	O
life	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Services	O
:	O
Network-operated	O
bots	O
to	O
facilitate	O
registration	O
of	O
nicknames	O
and	O
channels	O
,	O
sending	O
messages	B-Protocol
for	O
offline	O
users	O
and	O
network	O
operator	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Extra	O
modes	O
:	O
While	O
the	O
original	O
IRC	B-Protocol
system	O
used	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
standard	O
user	O
and	O
channel	O
modes	O
,	O
new	O
servers	O
add	O
many	O
new	O
modes	O
for	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
removing	O
color	O
codes	O
from	O
text	B-Application
,	O
or	O
obscuring	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
hostmask	O
(	O
"	O
cloaking	O
"	O
)	O
to	O
protect	O
from	O
denial-of-service	O
attacks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Proxy	O
detection	O
:	O
Most	O
modern	O
servers	O
support	O
detection	O
of	O
users	O
attempting	O
to	O
connect	O
through	O
an	O
insecure	O
(	O
misconfigured	O
or	O
exploited	O
)	O
proxy	B-Application
server	I-Application
,	O
which	O
can	O
then	O
be	O
denied	O
a	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Encryption	O
:	O
For	O
the	O
client-to-server	O
leg	O
of	O
the	O
connection	O
TLS	B-Protocol
might	O
be	O
used	O
(	O
messages	B-Protocol
cease	O
to	O
be	O
secure	O
once	O
they	O
are	O
relayed	O
to	O
other	O
users	O
on	O
standard	O
connections	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
makes	O
eavesdropping	O
on	O
or	O
wiretapping	O
an	O
individual	O
's	O
IRC	B-Protocol
sessions	O
difficult	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
client-to-client	O
communication	O
,	O
SDCC	O
(	O
Secure	O
DCC	O
)	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Connection	O
protocol	O
:	O
IRC	B-Protocol
can	O
be	O
connected	O
to	O
via	O
IPv4	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
old	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
,	O
or	O
by	O
IPv6	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
current	O
standard	O
of	O
the	O
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
a	O
new	O
standardization	O
effort	O
is	O
under	O
way	O
under	O
a	O
working	O
group	O
called	O
IRCv3	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
focuses	O
on	O
more	O
advanced	O
client	B-Protocol
features	O
like	O
instant	O
notifications	O
,	O
better	O
history	O
support	O
and	O
improved	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
no	O
major	O
IRC	B-Protocol
networks	I-Protocol
have	O
fully	O
adopted	O
the	O
proposed	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
its	O
golden	O
era	O
during	O
the	O
1990s	O
and	O
early	O
2000s	O
(	O
240,000	O
users	O
on	O
QuakeNet	O
in	O
2004	O
)	O
,	O
IRC	B-Protocol
has	O
seen	O
a	O
significant	O
decline	O
,	O
losing	O
around	O
60%	O
of	O
users	O
between	O
2003	O
and	O
2012	O
,	O
with	O
users	O
moving	O
to	O
newer	O
social	O
media	O
platforms	O
like	O
Facebook	B-Application
or	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
but	O
also	O
to	O
open	O
platforms	O
like	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
which	O
was	O
developed	O
in	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2016	O
,	O
Freenode	O
is	O
the	O
largest	O
IRC	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
with	O
around	O
90,000	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
largest	O
IRC	B-Protocol
networks	I-Protocol
have	O
traditionally	O
been	O
grouped	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
Big	O
Four	O
"	O
—	O
a	O
designation	O
for	O
networks	O
that	O
top	O
the	O
statistics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Big	O
Four	O
networks	O
change	O
periodically	O
,	O
but	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
community	O
nature	O
of	O
IRC	B-Protocol
there	O
are	O
a	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
other	O
networks	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
choose	O
from	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IRC	B-Protocol
reached	O
6	O
million	O
simultaneous	O
users	O
in	O
2001	O
and	O
10	O
million	O
users	O
in	O
2003	O
,	O
dropping	O
to	O
371k	O
in	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
the	O
largest	O
IRC	B-Protocol
networks	I-Protocol
are	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
the	O
top	O
100	O
IRC	B-Protocol
networks	I-Protocol
have	O
around	O
370k	O
users	O
connected	O
at	O
peak	O
hours	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Extensible	B-Protocol
Messaging	I-Protocol
and	I-Protocol
Presence	I-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
(	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
)	O
is	O
a	O
communication	O
protocol	O
for	O
message-oriented	B-Application
middleware	I-Application
based	O
on	O
XML	B-Protocol
(	O
Extensible	B-Protocol
Markup	I-Protocol
Language	I-Protocol
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
enables	O
the	O
near-real-time	B-General_Concept
exchange	B-Protocol
of	O
structured	O
yet	O
extensible	B-Architecture
data	O
between	O
any	O
two	O
or	O
more	O
network	O
entities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
named	O
Jabber	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
protocol	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
eponymous	O
open-source	O
community	O
in	O
1999	O
for	O
near	B-General_Concept
real-time	I-General_Concept
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
(	O
IM	O
)	O
,	O
presence	B-Protocol
information	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
contact	B-Protocol
list	I-Protocol
maintenance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Designed	O
to	O
be	O
extensible	B-Architecture
,	O
the	O
protocol	O
has	O
been	O
used	O
also	O
for	O
publish-subscribe	O
systems	O
,	O
signalling	O
for	O
VoIP	B-Application
,	O
video	O
,	O
file	B-Protocol
transfer	I-Protocol
,	O
gaming	O
,	O
the	B-Operating_System
Internet	I-Operating_System
of	I-Operating_System
Things	I-Operating_System
(	O
IoT	B-Operating_System
)	O
applications	B-Application
such	O
as	O
the	O
smart	B-Architecture
grid	I-Architecture
,	O
and	O
social	O
networking	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
most	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
protocols	O
,	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
is	O
defined	O
in	O
an	O
open	O
standard	O
and	O
uses	O
an	O
open	B-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
approach	O
of	O
development	O
and	O
application	B-Application
,	O
by	O
which	O
anyone	O
may	O
implement	O
an	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
service	O
and	O
interoperate	O
with	O
other	O
organizations	O
 '	O
implementations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
is	O
an	O
open	O
protocol	O
,	O
implementations	O
can	O
be	O
developed	O
using	O
any	O
software	O
license	O
and	O
many	O
server	O
,	O
client	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
library	O
implementations	O
are	O
distributed	O
as	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
software	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
Numerous	O
freeware	B-License
and	O
commercial	B-Application
software	I-Application
implementations	O
also	O
exist	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Internet	O
Engineering	O
Task	O
Force	O
(	O
IETF	O
)	O
formed	O
an	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
working	O
group	O
in	O
2002	O
to	O
formalize	O
the	O
core	O
protocols	O
as	O
an	O
IETF	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
and	O
presence	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
Working	O
group	O
produced	O
four	O
specifications	O
(	O
RFC	O
3920	O
,	O
RFC	O
3921	O
,	O
RFC	O
3922	O
,	O
RFC	O
3923	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
approved	O
as	O
Proposed	O
Standards	O
in	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
RFC	O
3920	O
and	O
RFC	O
3921	O
were	O
superseded	O
by	O
RFC	O
6120	O
and	O
RFC	O
6121	O
respectively	O
,	O
with	O
RFC	O
6122	O
specifying	O
the	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
address	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
these	O
core	O
protocols	O
standardized	O
at	O
the	O
IETF	O
,	O
the	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
Standards	I-Protocol
Foundation	I-Protocol
(	O
formerly	O
the	O
Jabber	B-Protocol
Software	I-Protocol
Foundation	I-Protocol
)	O
is	O
active	O
in	O
developing	O
open	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
extensions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XMPP-based	O
software	O
is	O
deployed	O
widely	O
across	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
2003	O
,	O
was	O
used	O
by	O
over	O
ten	O
million	O
people	O
worldwide	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
Standards	I-Protocol
Foundation	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Below	O
are	O
apps	O
that	O
are	O
used	O
for	O
texting	O
via	O
SMS	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Generally	O
,	O
these	O
apps	O
offer	O
various	O
features	O
for	O
expanded	O
messaging	B-Protocol
,	O
or	O
group	O
texts	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
all	O
messages	B-Protocol
are	O
received	O
by	O
others	O
as	O
regular	O
SMS	B-Device
text	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Textfree	B-Protocol
(	O
formerly	O
Pinger	B-Protocol
)	O
is	O
an	O
application	B-Application
made	O
by	O
Pinger	B-Protocol
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
text	B-Application
and	O
call	O
over	O
the	O
internet	O
for	O
free	O
or	O
for	O
a	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	B-Application
runs	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
Macintosh	B-Device
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Competitors	O
include	O
GOGII	O
,	O
Optini	O
and	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Below	O
are	O
stand-alone	O
apps	O
that	O
are	O
generally	O
focused	O
upon	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
as	O
their	O
core	O
feature	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
almost	O
all	O
of	O
these	O
also	O
include	O
numerous	O
distinct	O
additional	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
group	O
chats	B-Protocol
,	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
,	O
emojis	B-Application
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
apps	O
do	O
not	O
use	O
SMS	B-Device
messaging	B-Protocol
;	O
rather	O
,	O
users	O
of	O
this	O
app	B-Application
receive	O
messages	B-Protocol
through	O
the	O
app	B-Application
interface	O
,	O
not	O
through	O
SMS	B-Device
texting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tango	O
is	O
a	O
third-party	O
,	O
cross	B-Operating_System
platform	I-Operating_System
messaging	B-Protocol
application	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
smartphones	B-Application
developed	O
by	O
TangoME	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
in	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
is	O
free	O
and	O
began	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
provider	O
of	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
,	O
voice	B-Application
calls	O
,	O
texting	O
,	O
photo	O
sharing	O
,	O
and	O
games	O
on	O
a	O
3G	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
rated	O
by	O
PCMag	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
simplest	O
mobile	O
chat	B-Application
application	I-Application
out	O
there	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
good	O
range	O
of	O
support.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
Tango	O
entered	O
the	O
live-streaming	O
space	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
become	O
a	O
B2C	O
platform	O
for	O
Live	O
Video	O
Broadcasts	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Combining	O
high-quality	O
video	B-Application
streaming	I-Application
,	O
a	O
live	O
messaging	B-Protocol
chat	B-Application
and	O
a	O
digital	O
economy	O
,	O
Tango	O
is	O
a	O
social	O
community	O
that	O
allows	O
content	O
creators	O
to	O
share	O
their	O
talents	O
and	O
monetize	O
their	O
fans	O
and	O
followers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
provides	O
the	O
following	O
features	O
,	O
as	O
detailed	O
below	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
:	O
up	O
to	O
3	O
members	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
is	O
an	O
American	O
freeware	B-License
,	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
messaging	B-Protocol
and	O
Voice	B-Application
over	I-Application
IP	I-Application
(	O
VoIP	B-Application
)	O
service	O
owned	O
by	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
send	O
text	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
and	O
voice	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
,	O
make	O
voice	B-Application
and	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
,	O
and	O
share	O
images	O
,	O
documents	O
,	O
user	O
locations	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
's	O
client	B-Protocol
application	I-Protocol
runs	O
on	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
but	O
is	O
also	O
accessible	O
from	O
desktop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
remains	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
while	O
they	O
use	O
the	O
desktop	B-Application
app	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2018	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
released	O
a	O
standalone	O
business	O
app	B-Application
targeted	O
at	O
small	O
business	O
owners	O
,	O
called	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
Business	O
,	O
to	O
allow	O
companies	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
customers	O
who	O
use	O
the	O
standard	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
client	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
client	B-Protocol
application	I-Protocol
was	O
created	O
by	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
Inc	I-Application
.	I-Application
of	O
Mountain	O
View	O
,	O
California	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
Facebook	B-Application
in	O
February	O
2014	O
for	O
approximately	O
US	O
$19.3	O
billion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
became	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
most	O
popular	O
messaging	B-Protocol
application	B-Application
by	O
2015	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
over	O
2billion	O
users	O
worldwide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telegram	B-Application
provides	O
the	O
following	O
features	O
,	O
as	O
detailed	O
below	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telegram	B-Application
is	O
a	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
cloud-based	B-Architecture
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
,	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
,	O
and	O
VoIP	B-Application
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
initially	O
launched	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
on	O
14	O
August	O
2013	O
in	O
Russia	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
currently	O
based	O
in	O
Dubai	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telegram	B-Application
client	B-Protocol
apps	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
,	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
macOS	B-Application
and	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
web	O
interface	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
April	O
2020	O
,	O
Telegram	B-Application
reached	O
400	O
million	O
monthly	O
active	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telegram	B-Application
provides	O
end-to-end	O
encrypted	O
calls	O
and	O
optional	O
end-to-end	O
encrypted	O
"	O
secret	O
"	O
chats	B-Protocol
between	O
two	O
online	O
users	O
on	O
smartphone	B-Application
clients	O
,	O
whereas	O
cloud	B-Architecture
chats	B-Protocol
use	O
client-server/	O
server-client	O
encryption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
send	O
text	B-Application
and	O
voice	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
,	O
animated	O
stickers	O
,	O
make	O
voice	B-Application
and	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
,	O
and	O
share	O
an	O
unlimited	O
number	O
of	O
images	O
,	O
documents(2GB per file )	O
,	O
user	O
locations	O
,	O
contacts	O
,	O
music	O
,	O
links	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SInce	O
March	O
2017	O
,	O
Telegram	B-Application
introduced	O
its	O
own	O
voice	B-Application
calls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Telegram	B-Application
,	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
neural	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
working	O
to	O
learn	O
various	O
technical	O
parameters	O
about	O
a	O
call	O
to	O
provide	O
better	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
service	O
for	O
future	O
uses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
a	O
brief	O
initial	O
trial	O
in	O
Western	O
Europe	O
,	O
voice	B-Application
calls	O
are	O
now	O
available	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
most	O
countries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telegram	B-Application
announced	O
in	O
April	O
2020	O
that	O
they	O
would	O
include	O
group	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
15	O
August	O
2020	O
,	O
Telegram	B-Application
added	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
with	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
like	O
Signal	B-Application
and	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
which	O
Zoom	B-Application
does	O
not	O
have	O
yet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
offering	O
one-to-one	B-Architecture
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
,	O
Telegram	B-Application
has	O
plans	O
to	O
introduce	O
secure	O
group	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
later	O
in	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Picture-in-picture	O
mode	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
so	O
that	O
users	O
have	O
the	O
option	O
to	O
simultaneously	O
use	O
the	O
other	O
functions	O
of	O
the	O
app	B-Application
while	O
still	O
remaining	O
on	O
the	O
call	O
and	O
are	O
even	O
able	O
to	O
turn	O
their	O
video	O
off	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telegram	B-Application
's	O
video	O
and	O
voice	B-Application
calls	O
are	O
secure	O
and	O
end-to-end	O
encrypted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Voice	I-Application
is	O
a	O
telephone	O
service	O
that	O
provides	O
call	O
forwarding	O
and	O
voicemail	O
services	O
,	O
voice	B-Application
and	O
text	B-Device
messaging	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Voice	I-Application
provides	O
a	O
U.S.	O
telephone	O
number	O
,	O
chosen	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
from	O
available	O
numbers	O
in	O
selected	O
area	O
codes	O
,	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
to	O
each	O
user	O
account	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Calls	O
may	O
be	O
initiated	O
from	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
configured	O
telephones	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
from	O
a	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
app	B-Application
,	O
or	O
from	O
the	O
account	O
portal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
August	O
2011	O
,	O
users	O
in	O
many	O
other	O
countries	O
also	O
may	O
place	O
outbound	O
calls	O
from	O
the	O
web-based	O
application	B-Application
to	O
domestic	O
and	O
international	O
phone	O
numbers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
other	O
Google	B-Application
Voice	I-Application
services	O
—	O
such	O
as	O
voicemail	O
,	O
free	O
text	B-Device
messaging	I-Device
,	O
call	O
history	O
,	O
call	O
screening	O
,	O
blocking	O
of	O
unwanted	O
calls	O
,	O
and	O
voice	B-Application
transcription	I-Application
to	O
text	B-Application
of	O
voicemail	O
messages	B-Protocol
—	O
are	O
also	O
available	O
to	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
terms	O
of	O
product	O
integration	O
,	O
transcribed	O
and	O
audio	O
voicemails	O
,	O
missed	O
call	O
notifications	O
,	O
and/or	O
text	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
can	O
optionally	O
be	O
forwarded	O
to	O
an	O
email	O
account	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
choice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
text	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
can	O
be	O
sent	O
and	O
received	O
via	O
the	O
familiar	O
email	O
or	O
IM	O
interface	O
by	O
reading	O
and	O
writing	O
text	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
in	O
numbers	O
in	O
Google	B-Application
Talk	I-Application
respectively	O
(	O
PC-to-Phone	O
texting	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Voice	I-Application
multi-way	O
videoconferencing	B-Application
(	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
document	O
sharing	O
)	O
is	O
now	O
integrated	O
with	O
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
is	O
configured	O
and	O
maintained	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
in	O
a	O
web-based	O
application	B-Application
,	O
styled	O
after	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
e-mail	O
service	O
,	O
Gmail	B-Application
,	O
or	O
with	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
apps	O
on	O
smart	B-Application
phones	I-Application
or	O
tablets	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Voice	I-Application
provides	O
free	O
PC-to-phone	O
calling	O
within	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
and	O
Canada	O
,	O
and	O
PC-to-PC	O
voice	B-Application
and	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
worldwide	O
between	O
users	O
of	O
the	O
Google+	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
browser	B-Application
plugin	O
(	O
available	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
Intel-based	O
Mac	B-Device
OS	I-Device
X	I-Device
,	O
and	O
Linux	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GroupMe	B-Protocol
works	O
by	O
downloading	O
the	O
app	B-Application
or	O
accessing	O
the	O
service	O
online	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
forming	O
an	O
account	O
by	O
providing	O
your	O
name	O
,	O
cell	O
phone	O
number	O
and	O
a	O
password	O
,	O
or	O
you	O
can	O
connect	O
through	O
your	O
Facebook	B-Application
or	O
Twitter	B-Application
account	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
individual	O
who	O
is	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
active	O
group	O
has	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
turn	O
off	O
notifications	O
for	O
the	O
app	B-Application
;	O
users	O
will	O
still	O
receive	O
the	O
message	O
,	O
but	O
will	O
not	O
be	O
notified	O
about	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
app	B-Application
include	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
share	O
photos	O
,	O
videos	O
,	O
locations	O
,	O
create	O
events	O
,	O
and	O
emojis	B-Application
from	O
various	O
packs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GroupMe	B-Protocol
has	O
a	O
web	B-Application
client	I-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
apps	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Those	O
who	O
do	O
not	O
wish	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
app	B-Application
can	O
still	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
messages	B-Protocol
through	O
SMS	B-Device
(	O
only	O
available	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
allows	O
users	O
to	O
easily	O
attach	O
and	O
send	O
pictures	O
,	O
documents	O
,	O
videos	O
and	O
web-links	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
also	O
send	O
private	B-Application
messages	I-Application
,	O
but	O
only	O
to	O
users	O
who	O
are	O
also	O
active	O
on	O
the	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
app	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
GroupMe	B-Protocol
has	O
been	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
means	O
for	O
studying	O
the	O
usage	O
of	O
messaging	B-Protocol
clients	O
in	O
educational	O
settings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
unconventional	O
,	O
using	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
to	O
facilitate	O
discussion	O
in	O
an	O
environment	O
where	O
students	O
already	O
interact	O
has	O
been	O
found	O
to	O
encourage	O
rhetorical	O
thinking	O
and	O
overall	O
engagement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Research	O
around	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
furthers	O
the	O
argument	O
that	O
computer-mediated	O
communication	O
is	O
a	O
valuable	O
space	O
for	O
learning	O
in	O
an	O
increasingly	O
globalized	O
society	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
,	O
also	O
called	O
Hike	O
Sticker	O
Chat	B-Application
,	O
is	O
an	O
Indian	O
freeware	B-License
,	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
(	O
IM	O
)	O
,	O
Voice	B-Application
over	I-Application
IP	I-Application
(	O
VoIP	B-Application
)	O
application	B-Application
which	O
was	O
launched	O
on	O
12	O
December	O
2012	O
by	O
Kavin	O
Bharti	O
Mittal	O
and	O
is	O
now	O
owned	O
by	O
Hike	O
Private	O
Limited	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	O
can	O
work	O
offline	O
through	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
has	O
multi-platform	B-Operating_System
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
registration	O
uses	O
standard	O
one	O
time	O
password	O
(	O
OTP	O
)	O
based	O
authentication	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
abundance	O
of	O
low-cost	O
data	O
,	O
Hike	O
decided	O
to	O
go	O
from	O
a	O
single	O
super	O
app	B-Application
strategy	O
to	O
multiple	O
app	B-Application
approach	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
it	O
can	O
focus	O
more	O
on	O
the	O
core	O
messaging	B-Protocol
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
numerous	O
Hikemoji	O
Stickers	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
customized	O
accordingly.From	O
version	O
6	O
,	O
the	O
user-interface	B-Application
was	O
revised	O
and	O
the	O
app	B-Application
no	O
longer	O
supports	O
features	O
like	O
news	O
,	O
mobile	O
payment	O
,	O
games	O
or	O
jokes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
,	O
commonly	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
KaTalk	O
"	O
in	O
South	O
Korea	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
free	O
mobile	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
application	B-Application
for	O
smartphones	B-Application
with	O
free	O
text	B-Application
and	O
free	O
call	O
features	O
,	O
operated	O
by	O
Kakao	O
Corporation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
launched	O
on	O
March	O
18	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
currently	O
available	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
Bada	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
BlackBerry	B-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
,	O
Nokia	B-Device
Asha	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Application
and	O
macOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
May	O
2017	O
,	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
had	O
220	O
million	O
registered	O
and	O
49	O
million	O
monthly	O
active	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
is	O
also	O
used	O
by	O
93%	O
of	O
smartphone	B-Application
owners	O
in	O
South	O
Korea	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
number	O
one	O
messaging	B-Application
app	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
free	O
calls	O
and	O
messages	B-Protocol
,	O
users	O
can	O
share	O
photos	O
,	O
videos	O
,	O
voice	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
,	O
location	O
,	O
URL	O
links	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
contact	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
one-on-one	O
and	O
group	O
chats	B-Protocol
are	O
available	O
over	O
WiFi	O
,	O
3G	B-Architecture
or	O
LTE	O
,	O
and	O
there	O
are	O
no	O
limits	O
to	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
people	O
on	O
a	O
group	O
chat	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Airlines	O
such	O
as	O
Southwest	O
which	O
allow	O
free	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
in	O
flight	O
also	O
have	O
functionality	O
for	O
KaTalk	O
,	O
even	O
though	O
their	O
literature	O
omits	O
to	O
mention	O
same	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
automatically	O
synchronizes	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
contact	B-Protocol
list	I-Protocol
on	O
their	O
smartphones	B-Application
with	O
the	O
contact	B-Protocol
list	I-Protocol
on	O
the	O
app	B-Application
to	O
find	O
friends	O
who	O
are	O
on	O
the	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
also	O
search	O
for	O
friends	O
by	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
ID	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
know	O
their	O
phone	O
numbers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
service	O
also	O
allows	O
its	O
users	O
to	O
export	O
their	O
messages	B-Protocol
and	O
save	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
began	O
as	O
a	O
messenger	B-Application
service	I-Application
but	O
has	O
become	O
a	O
platform	O
for	O
the	O
distribution	O
of	O
various	O
third-party	O
content	O
and	O
apps	O
,	O
including	O
hundreds	O
of	O
games	O
,	O
which	O
users	O
can	O
download	O
and	O
play	O
with	O
their	O
friends	O
through	O
the	O
messaging	B-Protocol
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
the	O
"	O
Plus	O
Friend	O
"	O
feature	O
,	O
users	O
can	O
follow	O
brands	O
,	O
media	O
and	O
celebrities	O
to	O
receive	O
exclusive	O
messages	B-Protocol
,	O
coupons	O
and	O
other	O
real-time	O
information	O
through	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
chatrooms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
also	O
purchase	O
real-life	O
goods	O
through	O
the	O
messenger	B-Protocol
's	O
"	O
Gifting	O
"	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
those	O
listed	O
above	O
,	O
the	O
app	B-Application
has	O
these	O
additional	O
features	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
,	O
commonly	O
called	O
Kik	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
freeware	B-License
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
from	O
the	O
Canadian	O
company	O
Kik	O
Interactive	O
,	O
available	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
operating	I-Application
systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
uses	O
a	O
smartphone	B-Application
's	O
data	O
plan	O
or	O
Wi-Fi	O
to	O
transmit	O
and	O
receive	O
messages	B-Protocol
,	O
photos	O
,	O
videos	O
,	O
sketches	O
,	O
mobile	O
web	O
pages	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
content	O
after	O
users	O
register	O
a	O
username	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
application	B-Application
does	O
not	O
employ	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
company	O
also	O
logs	O
user	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
determine	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
ISP	O
and	O
approximate	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	O
was	O
originally	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
music-sharing	O
app	B-Application
before	O
transitioning	O
to	O
messaging	B-Protocol
,	O
briefly	O
offering	O
users	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
send	O
a	O
limited	O
number	O
of	O
SMS	B-Device
text	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
directly	O
from	O
the	O
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
first	O
15	O
days	O
after	O
Kik	O
's	O
re-release	O
as	O
a	O
messaging	B-Application
app	I-Application
,	O
over	O
1	O
million	O
accounts	O
were	O
created	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2016	O
,	O
Kik	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
announced	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
approximately	O
300	O
million	O
registered	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
used	O
by	O
approximately	O
40%	O
of	O
United	O
States	O
 '	O
teenagers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
announced	O
in	O
October	O
2019	O
they	O
had	O
signed	O
a	O
letter	O
of	O
intent	O
with	O
MediaLab	O
AI	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
announcement	O
Kik	O
Interactive	O
would	O
be	O
reducing	O
their	O
staff	O
from	O
100	O
to	O
just	O
19	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MediaLab	O
owns	O
several	O
mobile	B-Application
apps	I-Application
,	O
most	O
notably	O
Whisper	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
main	O
attraction	O
of	O
Kik	O
that	O
differentiates	O
it	O
from	O
other	O
messaging	B-Application
apps	I-Application
is	O
its	O
anonymity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Kik	O
registration	O
process	O
does	O
not	O
request	O
or	O
require	O
the	O
entry	O
of	O
a	O
phone	O
number	O
(	O
although	O
the	O
user	O
has	O
the	O
option	O
to	O
enter	O
one	O
)	O
,	O
unlike	O
some	O
other	O
messaging	B-Protocol
services	O
that	O
require	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
functioning	O
mobile	O
phone	O
number	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
guide	O
further	O
said	O
that	O
the	O
company	O
does	O
not	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
content	O
or	O
"	O
historical	O
user	O
data	O
"	O
such	O
as	O
photographs	O
,	O
videos	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
text	B-Application
of	O
conversations	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
photographs	O
and	O
videos	O
are	O
automatically	O
deleted	O
shortly	O
after	O
they	O
are	O
sent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
limited	O
amount	O
of	O
data	O
from	O
a	O
particular	O
account	O
(	O
identified	O
by	O
exact	O
username	O
)	O
,	O
including	O
first	O
and	O
last	O
name	O
,	O
birthdate	O
,	O
e-mail	O
address	O
,	O
link	O
to	O
a	O
current	O
profile	O
picture	O
,	O
device-related	O
information	O
,	O
and	O
user	O
location	O
information	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
most	O
recently	O
used	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
,	O
can	O
be	O
preserved	O
for	O
a	O
period	O
of	O
90	O
days	O
pending	O
receipt	O
of	O
a	O
valid	O
order	O
from	O
law	O
enforcement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	O
's	O
anonymity	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
cited	O
as	O
a	O
protective	O
safety	O
measure	O
for	O
good	O
faith	O
users	O
,	O
in	O
that	O
"	O
users	O
have	O
screennames	O
;	O
the	O
app	B-Application
does	O
n't	O
share	O
phone	O
numbers	O
or	O
email	O
addresses.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	O
introduced	O
several	O
new	O
user	O
features	O
in	O
2015	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
full-screen	O
in-chat	O
browser	B-Application
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
find	O
and	O
share	O
content	O
from	O
the	O
web	O
;	O
a	O
feature	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
send	O
previously	O
recorded	O
videos	O
in	O
Kik	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
for	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
;	O
and	O
"	O
Kik	O
Codes	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
assigns	O
each	O
user	O
a	O
unique	O
code	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
QR	O
code	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
easier	O
to	O
connect	O
and	O
chat	B-Application
with	O
other	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
same	O
month	O
,	O
Kik	O
released	O
native	O
video	O
capture	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
record	O
up	O
to	O
15	O
seconds	O
in	O
the	O
chat	B-Application
window	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
campaign	O
was	O
featured	O
on	O
the	O
app	B-Application
and	O
Kik	O
released	O
stickers	O
in	O
collaboration	B-Application
with	O
the	O
campaign	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	O
released	O
a	O
feature	O
to	O
send	O
GIFs	O
as	O
emojis	B-Application
in	O
November	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kik	O
partnered	O
with	O
ConnectSafely	O
in	O
2016	O
to	O
produce	O
a	O
"	O
parents	O
handbook	O
"	O
and	O
joined	O
The	O
Technology	O
Coalition	O
,	O
an	O
anti-sexual	O
exploitation	O
group	O
including	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
Twitter	B-Application
and	O
LinkedIn	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Line	B-Application
(	O
styled	O
in	O
all	O
caps	O
as	O
LINE	B-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
freeware	B-License
app	B-Application
for	O
instant	B-Application
communications	I-Application
on	O
electronic	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
smartphones	B-Application
,	O
tablet	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
and	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Line	B-Application
users	O
exchange	B-Protocol
texts	O
,	O
images	O
,	O
video	O
and	O
audio	O
,	O
and	O
conduct	O
free	O
VoIP	B-Application
conversations	O
and	O
video	B-Application
conferences	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
Line	B-Application
is	O
a	O
platform	O
providing	O
various	O
services	O
including	O
digital	O
wallet	O
as	O
Line	B-Application
Pay	O
,	O
news	O
stream	O
as	O
Line	B-Application
Today	O
,	O
video	B-Application
on	I-Application
demand	I-Application
as	O
Line	B-Application
TV	O
,	O
and	O
digital	O
comic	O
distribution	O
as	O
Line	B-Application
Manga	O
and	O
Line	B-Application
Webtoon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
is	O
operated	O
by	O
Line	B-Application
Corporation	O
,	O
a	O
Tokyo-based	O
subsidiary	O
of	O
South	O
Korean	O
internet	O
search	O
engine	O
company	O
Naver	O
Corporation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Line	B-Application
is	O
an	O
application	B-Application
that	O
works	O
on	O
multiple	B-Operating_System
platforms	I-Operating_System
and	O
has	O
access	O
via	O
multiple	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
(	O
Windows	B-Application
or	O
macOS	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	B-Application
will	O
also	O
give	O
an	O
option	O
of	O
address	O
book	O
syncing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
application	B-Application
also	O
has	O
a	O
feature	O
to	O
add	O
friends	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
QR	O
codes	O
,	O
by	O
Line	B-Application
ID	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
shaking	O
phones	O
simultaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	B-Application
has	O
a	O
direct	O
pop-out	O
message	O
box	O
for	O
reading	O
and	O
replying	O
to	O
make	O
it	O
easy	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
communicate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
can	O
share	O
photos	O
,	O
videos	O
and	O
music	O
with	O
other	O
users	O
,	O
send	O
the	O
current	O
or	O
any	O
specific	O
location	O
,	O
voice	B-Application
audio	O
,	O
emojis	B-Application
,	O
stickers	O
and	O
emoticons	B-Protocol
to	O
friends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
see	O
a	O
real-time	O
confirmation	O
when	O
messages	B-Protocol
are	O
sent	O
and	O
received	O
or	O
use	O
a	O
hidden	O
chat	B-Application
feature	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
hide	O
and	O
delete	O
a	O
chat	B-Application
history	O
(	O
from	O
both	O
involved	O
devices	O
and	O
Line	B-Application
servers	O
)	O
after	O
a	O
time	O
set	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	B-Application
also	O
makes	O
free	O
voice	B-Application
and	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
also	O
chat	B-Application
and	O
share	O
media	O
in	O
a	O
group	O
by	O
creating	O
and	O
joining	O
groups	O
that	O
have	O
up	O
to	O
500	O
people	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chats	B-Protocol
also	O
provide	O
bulletin	O
boards	O
on	O
which	O
users	O
can	O
post	O
,	O
like	O
,	O
and	O
comment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
application	B-Application
also	O
has	O
timeline	O
and	O
homepage	O
features	O
that	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
post	O
pictures	O
,	O
text	B-Application
and	O
stickers	O
on	O
their	O
homepages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
also	O
change	O
their	O
Line	B-Application
theme	O
to	O
the	O
theme	O
Line	B-Application
provides	O
in	O
the	O
theme	O
shop	O
for	O
free	O
or	O
users	O
can	O
buy	O
other	O
famous	O
cartoon	O
characters	O
they	O
like	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Line	B-Application
also	O
has	O
a	O
feature	O
,	O
called	O
a	O
Snap	O
movie	O
,	O
that	O
users	O
can	O
use	O
to	O
record	O
a	O
stop-motion	O
video	O
and	O
add	O
in	O
provided	O
background	O
music	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2015	O
,	O
Line	B-Application
Taxi	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
Tokyo	O
as	O
a	O
competitor	O
to	O
Uber	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Line	B-Application
launched	O
a	O
new	O
android	B-Application
app	B-Application
called	O
"	O
Popcorn	O
buzz	O
"	O
in	O
June	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
facilitates	O
group	O
calls	O
with	O
up	O
to	O
200	O
members	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
a	O
new	O
Emoji	B-Application
keyboard	O
was	O
also	O
released	O
for	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
devices	I-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
provides	O
a	O
Line-like	O
experience	O
with	O
the	O
possibility	O
to	O
add	O
stickers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2015	O
a	O
new	O
Android	B-Application
launcher	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
the	O
Play	O
Store	O
,	O
helping	O
the	O
company	O
to	O
promote	O
its	O
own	O
services	O
through	O
the	O
new	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Signal	B-Application
is	O
a	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
encrypted	O
messaging	B-Application
service	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
the	O
Signal	B-Application
Foundation	O
and	O
Signal	B-Application
Messenger	I-Application
LLC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
uses	O
the	O
Internet	O
to	O
send	O
one-to-one	B-Architecture
and	O
group	O
messages	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
can	O
include	O
files	O
,	O
voice	B-Operating_System
notes	I-Operating_System
,	O
images	O
and	O
videos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
make	O
one-to-one	B-Architecture
voice	B-Application
and	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
version	O
can	O
optionally	O
function	O
as	O
an	O
SMS	B-Device
app	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Signal	B-Application
uses	O
standard	O
cellular	O
telephone	O
numbers	O
as	O
identifiers	O
and	O
secures	O
all	O
communications	O
to	O
other	O
Signal	B-Application
users	O
with	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Snapchat	O
sends	O
messages	B-Protocol
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
snaps	O
"	O
;	O
snaps	O
can	O
consist	O
of	O
a	O
photo	O
or	O
a	O
short	O
video	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
edited	O
to	O
include	O
filters	O
and	O
effects	O
,	O
text	B-Application
captions	O
,	O
and	O
drawings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
holding	O
down	O
on	O
the	O
photo	O
button	O
while	O
inside	O
the	O
app	B-Application
,	O
a	O
video	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
ten	O
seconds	O
in	O
length	O
can	O
be	O
captured	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
1	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
communicate	O
via	O
video	B-Application
chat	I-Application
was	O
added	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct	O
messaging	B-Protocol
features	O
were	O
also	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
update	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
send	O
ephemeral	O
text	B-Application
messages	B-Protocol
to	O
friends	O
and	O
family	O
while	O
saving	O
any	O
needed	O
information	O
by	O
clicking	O
on	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
CIO	O
,	O
Snapchat	O
uses	O
real-time	O
marketing	O
concepts	O
and	O
temporality	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
app	B-Application
appealing	O
to	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
were	O
previously	O
required	O
to	O
hold	O
down	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
view	O
a	O
snap	O
;	O
this	O
behavior	O
was	O
removed	O
in	O
July	O
2015	O
The	O
requirement	O
to	O
hold	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
was	O
intended	O
to	O
frustrate	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
take	O
screenshots	B-Application
of	O
snaps	O
;	O
the	O
Snapchat	O
app	B-Application
does	O
not	O
prevent	O
screenshots	B-Application
from	O
being	O
taken	O
but	O
can	O
notify	O
the	O
sender	O
if	O
it	O
detects	O
that	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
saved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
these	O
notifications	O
can	O
be	O
bypassed	O
through	O
either	O
unauthorized	O
modifications	O
to	O
the	O
app	B-Application
or	O
by	O
obtaining	O
the	O
image	O
through	O
external	O
means	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2015	O
,	O
Snapchat	O
introduced	O
the	O
option	O
to	O
purchase	O
additional	O
replays	O
through	O
in-app	O
purchases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spiegel	O
explained	O
that	O
Snapchat	O
is	O
intended	O
to	O
counteract	O
the	O
trend	O
of	O
users	O
being	O
compelled	O
to	O
manage	O
an	O
idealized	O
online	B-Application
identity	I-Application
of	O
themselves	O
,	O
which	O
he	O
says	O
has	O
"	O
taken	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
fun	O
out	O
of	O
communicating.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Rakuten	O
Viber	B-Application
,	O
or	O
simply	O
Viber	B-Application
,	O
is	O
a	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
voice	B-Application
over	I-Application
IP	I-Application
(	O
VoIP	B-Application
)	O
and	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
(	O
IM	O
)	O
software	B-Application
application	I-Application
operated	O
by	O
Japanese	O
multinational	O
company	O
Rakuten	O
,	O
provided	O
as	O
freeware	B-License
for	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
macOS	B-Application
and	O
Linux	B-Application
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
are	O
registered	O
and	O
identified	O
through	O
a	O
cellular	O
telephone	O
number	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
service	O
is	O
accessible	O
on	O
desktop	B-Device
platforms	O
without	O
needing	O
mobile	O
connectivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
it	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
exchange	B-Protocol
media	O
such	O
as	O
images	O
and	O
video	O
records	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
provides	O
a	O
paid	O
international	O
landline	O
and	O
mobile	O
calling	O
service	O
called	O
Viber	B-Application
Out	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wonder	O
is	O
a	O
new	O
style	O
of	O
shared	O
video	B-Application
chat	I-Application
,	O
using	O
a	O
virtual	O
space	O
where	O
users	O
can	O
move	O
between	O
virtual	O
rooms	O
and	O
initiate	O
conversations	O
either	O
with	O
a	O
large	O
group	O
,	O
or	O
within	O
a	O
spontaneous	O
"	O
circle.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
chat	B-Application
platforms	O
is	O
entirely	O
browser-based	O
,	O
and	O
does	O
not	O
entail	O
or	O
require	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
any	O
specific	O
app	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dingtone	O
is	O
an	O
application	B-Application
made	O
by	O
Dingtone	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
text	B-Application
and	O
call	O
over	O
the	O
internet	O
for	O
free	O
or	O
for	O
a	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
application	B-Application
runs	O
on	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
IOS	B-Application
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
Macintosh	B-Device
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WeChat	B-Application
is	O
a	O
Chinese	O
multi-purpose	O
messaging	B-Protocol
,	O
social	O
media	O
and	O
mobile	O
payment	O
app	B-Application
developed	O
by	O
Tencent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
First	O
released	O
in	O
2011	O
,	O
it	O
became	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
largest	O
standalone	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
in	O
2018	O
,	O
with	O
over	O
1	O
billion	O
monthly	O
active	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WeChat	B-Application
has	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
China	O
's	O
"	O
app	B-Application
for	O
everything	O
"	O
and	O
a	O
"	O
super	O
app	B-Application
"	O
because	O
of	O
its	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WeChat	B-Application
provides	O
text	B-Device
messaging	I-Device
,	O
hold-to-talk	O
voice	B-Application
messaging	B-Protocol
,	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
(	O
one-to-many	O
)	O
messaging	B-Protocol
,	O
video	B-Application
conferencing	I-Application
,	O
video	O
games	O
,	O
sharing	O
of	O
photographs	O
and	O
videos	O
,	O
and	O
location	O
sharing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WeChat	B-Application
provides	O
text	B-Device
messaging	I-Device
,	O
hold-to-talk	O
voice	B-Application
messaging	B-Protocol
,	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
(	O
one-to-many	O
)	O
messaging	B-Protocol
,	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
and	O
conferencing	O
,	O
video	O
games	O
,	O
photograph	O
and	O
video	O
sharing	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
location	O
sharing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WeChat	B-Application
also	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
exchange	B-Protocol
contacts	O
with	O
people	O
nearby	O
via	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
providing	O
various	O
features	O
for	O
contacting	O
people	O
at	O
random	O
if	O
desired	O
(	O
if	O
people	O
are	O
open	O
to	O
it	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
also	O
integrate	O
with	O
other	O
social	O
networking	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Application
and	O
Tencent	B-Operating_System
QQ	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Photographs	O
may	O
also	O
be	O
embellished	O
with	O
filters	O
and	O
captions	O
,	O
and	O
automatic	B-Application
translation	I-Application
service	O
is	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WeChat	B-Application
supports	O
different	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
methods	O
,	O
including	O
text	B-Application
message	O
,	O
voice	B-Application
message	O
,	O
walkie	O
talkie	O
,	O
and	O
stickers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
send	O
previously	O
saved	O
or	O
live	O
pictures	O
and	O
videos	O
,	O
profiles	O
of	O
other	O
users	O
,	O
coupons	O
,	O
lucky	O
money	O
packages	O
,	O
or	O
current	O
GPS	O
locations	O
with	O
friends	O
either	O
individually	O
or	O
in	O
a	O
group	O
chat	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
WeChat	B-Application
's	O
character	O
stickers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Tuzki	O
,	O
resemble	O
and	O
compete	O
with	O
those	O
of	O
LINE	B-Application
,	O
a	O
Japanese-South	O
Korean	O
messaging	B-Protocol
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
WeChat	B-Application
users	O
can	O
register	O
as	O
a	O
public	O
account	O
(	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
enables	O
them	O
to	O
push	O
feeds	O
to	O
subscribers	O
,	O
interact	O
with	O
subscribers	O
and	O
provide	O
them	O
with	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
WeChat	B-Application
official	O
accounts	O
had	O
reached	O
8	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Moments	O
"	O
(	O
)	O
is	O
WeChat	B-Application
's	O
brand	O
name	O
for	O
its	O
social	O
feed	O
of	O
friends	O
 '	O
updates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Moments	O
"	O
is	O
an	O
interactive	O
platform	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
post	O
images	O
,	O
text	B-Application
,	O
and	O
short	O
videos	O
taken	O
by	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
share	O
articles	O
and	O
music	O
(	O
associated	O
with	O
QQ	B-Operating_System
Music	O
or	O
other	O
web-based	O
music	O
services	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Friends	O
in	O
the	O
contact	B-Protocol
list	I-Protocol
can	O
give	O
thumbs	O
up	O
to	O
the	O
content	O
and	O
leave	O
comments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moments	O
can	O
be	O
linked	O
to	O
Facebook	B-Application
and	O
Twitter	B-Application
accounts	I-Application
,	O
and	O
can	O
automatically	O
post	O
Moments	O
content	O
directly	O
on	O
these	O
two	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
WeChat	B-Application
had	O
a	O
policy	O
of	O
a	O
maximum	O
of	O
two	O
advertisements	O
per	O
day	O
per	O
Moments	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Platforms	O
specifically	O
designed	O
to	O
combined	O
messages	B-Protocol
from	O
multiple	O
other	O
mobile	B-Application
apps	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Trillian	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
proprietary	B-Application
multiprotocol	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
application	B-Application
created	O
by	O
Cerulean	O
Studios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
currently	O
available	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
Mac	B-Device
OS	I-Device
X	I-Device
,	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
BlackBerry	B-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
Web	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
connect	O
to	O
multiple	O
IM	O
services	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
AIM	B-Protocol
,	O
Bonjour	B-Application
,	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
,	O
Google	B-Application
Talk	I-Application
(	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
IRC	B-Protocol
,	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
(	O
Jabber	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
VZ	O
,	O
and	O
Yahoo	B-Application
!	O
</s>
<s>
Messenger	B-Protocol
networks	O
;	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
social	O
networking	O
sites	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
,	O
LinkedIn	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Twitter	B-Application
;	O
and	O
email	O
services	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
POP3	B-Protocol
and	O
IMAP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Trillian	B-Protocol
no	O
longer	O
supports	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Live	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
or	O
Skype	B-Application
as	O
these	O
services	O
have	O
combined	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
chose	O
to	O
discontinue	O
Skypekit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
no	O
longer	O
support	O
connecting	O
to	O
MySpace	B-Application
,	O
and	O
no	O
longer	O
support	O
a	O
distinct	O
connection	O
for	O
Gmail	B-Application
,	O
Hotmail	B-Operating_System
or	O
Yahoo	B-Application
!	O
</s>
<s>
Mail	O
although	O
these	O
can	O
still	O
be	O
connected	O
to	O
via	O
POP3	B-Protocol
or	O
IMAP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
,	O
Trillian	B-Protocol
supports	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
Jabber	B-Protocol
(	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
and	O
Olark	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
released	O
July	O
1	O
,	O
2000	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
freeware	B-License
IRC	B-Protocol
client	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
first	O
commercial	O
version	O
(	O
Trillian	B-Protocol
Pro	I-Protocol
1.0	O
)	O
was	O
published	O
on	O
September	O
10	O
,	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
was	O
named	O
after	O
Trillian	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
fictional	O
character	O
in	O
The	B-Application
Hitchhiker	I-Application
's	I-Application
Guide	I-Application
to	I-Application
the	I-Application
Galaxy	I-Application
by	O
Douglas	O
Adams	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
14	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
Trillian	B-Protocol
"	O
Astra	O
"	O
(	O
4.0	O
)	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
was	O
released	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
its	O
own	O
Astra	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Trillian	B-Protocol
5	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
May	O
2011	O
,	O
and	O
Trillian	B-Protocol
6.0	O
was	O
initially	O
released	O
in	O
February	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Trillian	B-Protocol
connects	O
to	O
multiple	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
services	O
without	O
the	O
need	O
of	O
running	O
multiple	O
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
contacts	O
are	O
gathered	O
under	O
the	O
same	O
contact	B-Protocol
list	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Trillian	B-Protocol
represents	O
each	O
service	O
with	O
a	O
different-colored	O
sphere	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Trillian	B-Protocol
designers	O
chose	O
a	O
color-coding	O
scheme	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
underground	O
maps	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
London	O
Underground	O
that	O
uses	O
different	O
colors	O
to	O
differentiate	O
between	O
different	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Empathy	B-Language
is	O
an	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
(	O
IM	O
)	O
and	O
voice	B-Application
over	I-Application
IP	I-Application
(	O
VoIP	B-Application
)	O
client	B-Protocol
which	O
supports	O
text	B-Application
,	O
voice	B-Application
,	O
video	O
,	O
file	B-Protocol
transfers	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
inter-application	O
communication	O
over	O
various	O
IM	O
communication	O
protocols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
specifically	O
designed	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
BSD	B-Operating_System
,	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
and	O
other	O
Unix-like	B-Application
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
initially	O
completely	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
based	O
(	O
similar	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
Talk	I-Application
and	O
Facebook	B-Application
's	O
chat	B-Application
implementations	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
others	O
wanted	O
it	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
Telepathy	B-Protocol
stack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
forking	O
and	O
new	O
name	O
Empathy	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Empathy	B-Language
also	O
provides	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
reusable	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
widgets	O
for	O
developing	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
clients	O
for	O
the	O
GNOME	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
written	O
as	O
extension	O
to	O
the	O
Telepathy	B-Protocol
framework	O
,	O
for	O
connecting	O
to	O
different	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
networks	O
with	O
a	O
unified	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Empathy	B-Language
has	O
been	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
GNOME	B-Application
desktop	I-Application
since	O
its	O
version	O
2.24	O
,	O
in	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
since	O
version	O
9.10	O
(	O
Karmic	O
Koala	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
Fedora	O
since	O
version	O
12	O
(	O
Constantine	O
)	O
;	O
Empathy	B-Language
has	O
replaced	O
Pidgin	B-Protocol
as	O
their	O
default	O
messenger	B-Protocol
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	B-Protocol
(	O
Apple	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
software	B-Application
application	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Apple	O
Inc	O
.	O
for	O
its	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
watchOS	B-Device
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mobile	B-Operating_System
version	I-Operating_System
of	O
Messages	B-Protocol
on	O
iOS	B-Application
used	O
on	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
and	O
iPad	B-Device
also	O
supports	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
MMS	O
due	O
to	O
replacing	O
the	O
older	O
text	B-Device
messaging	I-Device
Text	B-Application
app	B-Application
since	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
tell	O
the	O
difference	O
between	O
a	O
message	O
sent	O
via	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
one	O
sent	O
over	O
iMessage	O
as	O
the	O
bubbles	O
will	O
appear	O
either	O
green	O
(	O
SMS	B-Device
)	O
or	O
blue	O
(	O
iMessage	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
desktop	B-Device
Messages	B-Protocol
application	B-Application
replaced	O
iChat	B-Protocol
as	O
the	O
native	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
client	B-Protocol
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
Mountain	I-Operating_System
Lion	I-Operating_System
in	O
July	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
it	O
inherits	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
iChat	B-Protocol
's	O
features	O
,	O
Messages	B-Protocol
also	O
brings	O
support	O
for	O
iMessage	O
,	O
Apple	O
's	O
messaging	B-Application
service	I-Application
for	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
integration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	B-Protocol
was	O
announced	O
for	O
OS	O
X	O
as	O
a	O
beta	O
application	B-Application
on	O
February	O
16	O
,	O
2012	O
for	O
Macs	O
running	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
10.7	I-Application
"	I-Application
Lion	I-Application
"	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
stable	O
release	O
of	O
Messages	B-Protocol
was	O
released	O
on	O
July	O
25	O
,	O
2012	O
with	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
Mountain	I-Operating_System
Lion	I-Operating_System
,	O
replacing	O
iChat	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
supporting	O
Apple	O
's	O
new	O
iMessage	O
protocol	O
,	O
Messages	B-Protocol
retained	O
its	O
support	O
for	O
AIM	B-Protocol
,	O
Yahoo	B-Application
Messenger	I-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
Talk	I-Application
and	O
Jabber	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	B-Protocol
unitizes	O
the	O
newly	O
added	O
Notification	B-Operating_System
Center	I-Operating_System
to	O
notify	O
of	O
incoming	O
messages	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
introduction	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
Share	O
button	O
in	O
applications	B-Application
like	O
Safari	B-Application
,	O
Finder	B-Application
and	O
Preview	B-Language
gave	O
users	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
share	O
links	O
to	O
webpages	O
,	O
photos	O
,	O
and	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	B-Protocol
also	O
supported	O
dragging	O
and	O
dropping	O
files	O
and	O
photos	O
for	O
sharing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
supports	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
through	O
Apple	O
's	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
and	O
the	O
third-party	O
IM	O
services	O
it	O
supports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
Mountain	I-Operating_System
Lion	I-Operating_System
10.8.2	O
,	O
Messages	B-Protocol
gained	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
iMessages	O
using	O
an	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
phone	O
number	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	B-Protocol
received	O
a	O
major	O
redesign	O
in	O
OS	B-Device
X	I-Device
Yosemite	I-Device
,	O
following	O
the	O
flat	B-Application
design	I-Application
aesthetic	O
introduced	O
in	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
7	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
Continuity	O
feature	O
,	O
users	O
can	O
send	O
and	O
receive	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
MMS	O
messages	B-Protocol
through	O
paired	O
iPhones	B-Operating_System
running	O
iOS	B-Application
8	O
or	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
can	O
incorporate	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
new	O
information	O
and	O
communication	O
tools	O
,	O
operating	O
on	O
desktops	O
and	O
on	O
laptops	B-Device
,	O
on	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
such	O
as	O
tablet	B-Device
computers	I-Device
and	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Architecture
community	I-Architecture
services	O
are	O
sometimes	O
considered	O
social-network	O
services	O
by	O
developers	O
and	O
users	O
,	O
though	O
in	O
a	O
broader	O
sense	O
,	O
a	O
social-network	O
service	O
usually	O
provides	O
an	O
individual-centered	O
service	O
whereas	O
online	B-Architecture
community	I-Architecture
services	O
are	O
group-centered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Defined	O
as	O
"	O
websites	O
that	O
facilitate	O
the	O
building	O
of	O
a	O
network	O
of	O
contacts	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
exchange	B-Protocol
various	O
types	O
of	O
content	O
online	O
,	O
"	O
social	O
networking	O
sites	O
provide	O
a	O
space	O
for	O
interaction	O
to	O
continue	O
beyond	O
in	O
person	O
interactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
success	O
of	O
social	O
networking	O
services	O
can	O
be	O
seen	O
in	O
their	O
dominance	O
in	O
society	O
today	O
,	O
with	O
Facebook	B-Application
having	O
a	O
massive	O
2.13billion	O
active	O
monthly	O
users	O
and	O
an	O
average	O
of	O
1.4billion	O
daily	O
active	O
users	O
in	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LinkedIn	B-Application
,	O
a	O
career-oriented	O
social-networking	O
service	O
,	O
generally	O
requires	O
that	O
a	O
member	O
personally	O
know	O
another	O
member	O
in	O
real	O
life	O
before	O
they	O
contact	O
them	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MeWe	B-Application
is	O
an	O
American	O
alt-tech	O
social	O
media	O
and	O
social	O
networking	O
service	O
owned	O
by	O
Sgrouples	B-Application
,	O
a	O
company	O
based	O
in	O
Culver	O
City	O
,	O
California	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MeWe	B-Application
's	O
light	O
approach	O
to	O
content	O
moderation	O
has	O
made	O
it	O
popular	O
among	O
conspiracy	O
theorists	O
,	O
particularly	O
the	O
anti-vaccine	O
movement	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
American	O
conservatives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2015	O
,	O
as	O
MeWe	B-Application
neared	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
its	O
beta	O
testing	O
cycle	O
,	O
the	O
press	O
called	O
MeWe	B-Application
's	O
software	O
"	O
not	O
dissimilar	O
to	O
Facebook	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mashable	O
described	O
MeWe	B-Application
as	O
replicating	O
Facebook	B-Application
's	O
features	O
in	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MeWe	B-Application
site	O
and	O
application	B-Application
has	O
features	O
common	O
to	O
most	O
social	O
media	O
and	O
social	O
networking	O
sites	O
:	O
users	O
can	O
post	O
text	B-Application
and	O
images	O
to	O
a	O
feed	O
,	O
react	O
to	O
others	O
 '	O
posts	O
using	O
emoji	B-Application
,	O
post	O
animated	O
GIFs	O
,	O
create	O
specialized	O
groups	O
,	O
post	O
disappearing	O
content	O
,	O
and	O
chat	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
may	O
occur	O
between	O
two	O
or	O
more	O
people	O
or	O
among	O
members	O
of	O
a	O
group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Person-to-person	O
online	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
is	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
in	O
most	O
other	O
social	O
media	O
and	O
social	O
networking	O
sites	O
,	O
and	O
supports	O
text	B-Application
,	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
,	O
and	O
voice	B-Application
calling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Secret	O
Chat	B-Application
"	O
is	O
limited	O
to	O
the	O
paid	O
subscription	O
tier	O
of	O
MeWe	B-Application
,	O
and	O
uses	O
double	B-Algorithm
ratchet	I-Algorithm
encryption	I-Algorithm
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
chats	B-Protocol
are	O
private	O
and	O
not	O
visible	O
even	O
to	O
MeWe	B-Application
employees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MeWe	B-Application
reported	O
in	O
June	O
2018	O
that	O
the	O
site	O
had	O
90,000	O
active	O
groups	O
,	O
60,000	O
of	O
which	O
were	O
"	O
public	O
"	O
and	O
open	O
to	O
all	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
influx	O
of	O
Hong	O
Kong	O
users	O
in	O
2020	O
,	O
MeWe	B-Application
CEO	O
Weinstein	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
website	O
would	O
provide	O
a	O
Traditional	O
Chinese	O
language	O
version	O
by	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
MeWe	B-Application
has	O
not	O
intentionally	O
positioned	O
itself	O
as	O
a	O
social	O
network	O
for	O
conservatives	O
,	O
Mashable	O
noted	O
in	O
November	O
2020	O
that	O
its	O
active	O
userbase	O
trends	O
conservative.The	O
platform	O
's	O
choice	O
not	O
to	O
moderate	O
misinformation	O
on	O
the	O
platform	O
has	O
attracted	O
conservatives	O
who	O
felt	O
mainstream	O
social	O
networks	O
were	O
censoring	O
their	O
posts	O
,	O
and	O
those	O
who	O
have	O
been	O
banned	O
from	O
those	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Meet	B-Protocol
Group	O
(	O
formerly	O
MeetMe	O
)	O
owns	O
several	O
mobile	O
social	O
networking	O
services	O
including	O
MeetMe	O
,	O
hi5	O
,	O
LOVOO	O
,	O
Growlr	O
,	O
Skout	O
,	O
and	O
Tagged	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
mobile	B-Application
apps	I-Application
are	O
available	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Android	B-Application
in	O
multiple	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
these	O
apps	O
,	O
users	O
can	O
stream	O
live	O
video	O
,	O
send	O
gifts	O
,	O
chat	B-Application
,	O
and	O
share	O
photos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Meet	B-Protocol
Group	O
derives	O
revenue	O
from	O
in-app	O
purchases	O
,	O
subscriptions	O
,	O
and	O
advertising	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Meet	B-Protocol
Group	O
has	O
transformed	O
its	O
business	O
from	O
being	O
a	O
predominantly	O
advertising	O
model	O
to	O
now	O
generating	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
revenue	O
from	O
user	O
pay	O
sources	O
,	O
which	O
include	O
subscriptions	O
and	O
in-app	O
purchases	O
for	O
virtual	O
gifts	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
its	O
video	O
live-streaming	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
U-Report	O
is	O
a	O
social	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
tool	O
and	O
data	O
collection	O
system	O
developed	O
by	O
UNICEF	O
to	O
improve	O
citizen	O
engagement	O
,	O
inform	O
leaders	O
,	O
and	O
foster	O
positive	O
change	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
sends	O
SMS	B-Device
polls	O
and	O
alerts	O
to	O
its	O
participants	O
,	O
collecting	O
real-time	O
responses	O
,	O
and	O
subsequently	O
publishes	O
gathered	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
is	O
an	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
service	O
and	O
software	B-Application
application	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
began	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Chat	I-Protocol
in	O
2008	O
,	O
was	O
revamped	O
in	O
2010	O
and	O
eventually	O
became	O
a	O
standalone	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
in	O
August	O
2011	O
,	O
while	O
remaining	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
page	O
on	O
browsers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Complementing	O
regular	O
conversations	O
,	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
lets	O
users	O
make	O
one-to-one	B-Architecture
and	O
group	O
voice	B-Application
and	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
Android	B-Application
app	B-Application
has	O
integrated	O
support	O
for	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
"	O
Chat	B-Application
Heads	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
round	O
profile	O
photo	O
icons	O
appearing	O
on-screen	O
regardless	O
of	O
what	O
app	B-Application
is	O
open	O
,	O
while	O
both	O
apps	O
support	O
multiple	O
accounts	O
,	O
conversations	O
with	O
optional	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
and	O
"	O
Instant	O
Games	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
Facebook	B-Application
added	O
"	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
Day	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
feature	O
that	O
lets	O
users	O
share	O
photos	O
and	O
videos	O
in	O
a	O
story-format	O
with	O
all	O
their	O
friends	O
with	O
the	O
content	O
disappearing	O
after	O
24	O
hours	O
;	O
Reactions	O
,	O
which	O
lets	O
users	O
tap	O
and	O
hold	O
a	O
message	O
to	O
add	O
a	O
reaction	O
through	O
an	O
emoji	B-Application
;	O
and	O
Mentions	O
,	O
which	O
lets	O
users	O
in	O
group	O
conversations	O
type	O
@	O
to	O
give	O
a	O
particular	O
user	O
a	O
notification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Businesses	O
and	O
users	O
can	O
interact	O
through	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
with	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
tracking	O
purchases	O
and	O
receiving	O
notifications	O
,	O
and	O
interacting	O
with	O
customer	O
service	O
representatives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Third-party	O
developers	O
can	O
integrate	O
apps	O
into	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
,	O
letting	O
users	O
enter	O
an	O
app	B-Application
while	O
inside	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
and	O
optionally	O
share	O
details	O
from	O
the	O
app	B-Application
into	O
a	O
chat	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
can	O
build	O
chatbots	B-General_Concept
into	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
,	O
for	O
uses	O
such	O
as	O
news	O
publishers	O
building	O
bots	O
to	O
distribute	O
news	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
M	B-Protocol
virtual	I-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
(	O
U.S.	O
)	O
scans	O
chats	B-Protocol
for	O
keywords	O
and	O
suggests	O
relevant	O
actions	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
its	O
payments	O
system	O
for	O
users	O
mentioning	O
money	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Group	O
chatbots	B-General_Concept
appear	O
in	O
Messenger	B-Protocol
as	O
"	O
Chat	B-Application
Extensions	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2013	O
,	O
Instagram	B-Application
announced	O
Instagram	B-Application
Direct	O
,	O
a	O
feature	O
that	O
lets	O
users	O
interact	O
through	O
private	O
messaging	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
who	O
follow	O
each	O
other	O
can	O
send	O
private	B-Application
messages	I-Application
with	O
photos	O
and	O
videos	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
the	O
public-only	O
requirement	O
that	O
was	O
previously	O
in	O
place	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
feature	O
received	O
a	O
major	O
update	O
in	O
September	O
2015	O
,	O
adding	O
conversation	O
threading	O
and	O
making	O
it	O
possible	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
share	O
locations	O
,	O
hashtag	O
pages	O
,	O
and	O
profiles	O
through	O
private	B-Application
messages	I-Application
directly	O
from	O
the	O
news	O
feed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
users	O
can	O
now	O
reply	O
to	O
private	B-Application
messages	I-Application
with	O
text	B-Application
,	O
emoji	B-Application
or	O
by	O
clicking	O
on	O
a	O
heart	O
icon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
new	O
update	O
in	O
November	O
2016	O
let	O
users	O
make	O
their	O
private	B-Application
messages	I-Application
"	O
disappear	O
"	O
after	O
being	O
viewed	O
by	O
the	O
recipient	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
sender	O
receiving	O
a	O
notification	O
if	O
the	O
recipient	O
takes	O
a	O
screenshot	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2017	O
,	O
Instagram	B-Application
redesigned	O
Direct	O
to	O
combine	O
all	O
private	B-Application
messages	I-Application
,	O
both	O
permanent	O
and	O
ephemeral	O
,	O
into	O
the	O
same	O
message	O
threads	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
,	O
Instagram	B-Application
made	O
it	O
possible	O
to	O
send	O
website	O
links	O
in	O
messages	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
also	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
sending	O
photos	O
in	O
their	O
original	O
portrait	O
or	O
landscape	O
orientation	O
without	O
cropping	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2020	O
,	O
Direct	O
became	O
accessible	O
from	O
the	O
Instagram	B-Application
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2020	O
,	O
Facebook	B-Application
started	O
merging	O
Instagram	B-Application
Direct	O
into	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
update	O
(	O
which	O
is	O
rolled	O
out	O
to	O
a	O
segment	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
base	O
)	O
the	O
Instagram	B-Application
Direct	O
icon	O
transforms	O
into	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
icon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
LinkedIn	B-Application
website	O
includes	O
a	O
feature	O
that	O
allows	O
direct	O
messaging	B-Protocol
by	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
any	O
other	O
user	O
who	O
is	O
on	O
their	O
list	O
of	O
Connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
users	O
with	O
Premium	O
membership	O
can	O
send	O
messages	B-Protocol
to	O
anyone	O
on	O
LinkedIn	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
Reddit	B-Application
developed	O
its	O
own	O
real-time	O
chat	B-Protocol
software	I-Protocol
for	O
the	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
some	O
established	O
subreddits	O
have	O
used	O
third-party	O
software	O
to	O
chat	B-Application
about	O
their	O
communities	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
built	O
chat	B-Application
functions	O
that	O
it	O
hopes	O
will	O
become	O
an	O
integral	O
part	O
of	O
Reddit	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Individual	O
chat	B-Application
rooms	O
were	O
rolled	O
out	O
in	O
2017	O
and	O
community	O
chat	B-Application
rooms	O
for	O
members	O
of	O
a	O
given	O
subreddit	O
were	O
rolled	O
out	O
in	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
tweet	O
via	O
the	O
Twitter	B-Application
website	O
,	O
compatible	O
external	O
applications	B-Application
(	O
such	O
as	O
for	O
smartphones	B-Application
)	O
,	O
or	O
by	O
Short	O
Message	O
Service	O
(	O
SMS	B-Device
)	O
available	O
in	O
certain	O
countries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
may	O
subscribe	O
to	O
other	O
users	O
 '	O
tweets	O
—	O
this	O
is	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
following	O
"	O
and	O
subscribers	O
are	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
followers	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
tweeps	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
portmanteau	O
of	O
Twitter	B-Application
and	O
peeps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twitter	B-Application
allows	O
users	O
to	O
update	O
their	O
profile	O
via	O
their	O
mobile	O
phone	O
either	O
by	O
text	B-Device
messaging	I-Device
or	O
by	O
apps	O
released	O
for	O
certain	O
smartphones	B-Application
and	O
tablets	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twitter	B-Application
has	O
been	O
compared	O
to	O
a	O
web-based	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Relay	I-Protocol
Chat	I-Protocol
(	O
IRC	B-Protocol
)	O
client	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
2009	O
Time	O
magazine	O
essay	O
,	O
technology	O
author	O
Steven	O
Johnson	O
described	O
the	O
basic	O
mechanics	O
of	O
Twitter	B-Application
as	O
"	O
remarkably	O
simple	O
"	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Jitsi	O
is	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
multiplatform	B-Operating_System
voice	B-Application
(	O
VoIP	B-Application
)	O
,	O
video	B-Application
conferencing	I-Application
and	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
applications	B-Application
for	O
the	O
web	O
platform	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Jitsi	O
project	O
began	O
with	O
the	O
Jitsi	O
Desktop	B-Device
(	O
previously	O
known	O
as	O
SIP	B-Application
Communicator	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
growth	O
of	O
WebRTC	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
project	O
team	O
focus	O
shifted	O
to	O
the	O
Jitsi	O
Videobridge	O
for	O
allowing	O
web-based	O
multi-party	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
the	O
team	O
added	O
Jitsi	O
Meet	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
full	O
video	B-Application
conferencing	I-Application
application	B-Application
that	O
includes	O
web	O
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
and	O
iOS	B-Application
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jitsi	O
also	O
operates	O
meet.jit.si,	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
Jitsi	O
Meet	B-Protocol
hosted	O
by	O
Jitsi	O
for	O
free	O
community	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
projects	O
include	O
:	O
Jigasi	O
,	O
lib-jitsi-meet	O
,	O
Jidesha	O
,	O
and	O
Jitsi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jitsi	O
has	O
received	O
support	O
from	O
various	O
institutions	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
NLnet	O
Foundation	O
,	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Strasbourg	O
and	O
the	O
Region	O
of	O
Alsace	O
and	O
it	O
has	O
also	O
had	O
multiple	O
participations	O
in	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
Summer	B-Application
of	I-Application
Code	I-Application
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jitsi	O
Meet	B-Protocol
is	O
an	O
open	O
source	O
JavaScript	O
WebRTC	B-Protocol
application	B-Application
used	O
primarily	O
for	O
video	B-Application
conferencing	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
audio	O
and	O
video	O
,	O
screen	B-Protocol
sharing	I-Protocol
is	O
available	O
,	O
and	O
new	O
members	O
can	O
be	O
invited	O
via	O
a	O
generated	O
link	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
interface	O
is	O
accessible	O
via	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
or	O
with	O
a	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Jitsi	O
Meet	B-Protocol
server	O
software	O
can	O
be	O
downloaded	O
and	O
installed	O
on	O
Linux-based	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Encrypted	O
communication	O
(	O
secure	O
communication	O
)	O
:	O
As	O
of	O
April	O
2020	O
,	O
one-to-one	B-Architecture
calls	O
use	O
the	O
P2P	O
mode	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
end-to-end	O
encrypted	O
via	O
DTLS-SRTP	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
participants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Jitsi	O
team	O
emphasizes	O
that	O
"	O
they	O
are	O
never	O
stored	O
to	O
any	O
persistent	O
storage	O
and	O
only	O
live	O
in	O
memory	O
while	O
being	O
routed	O
to	O
other	O
participants	O
in	O
the	O
meeting	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
this	O
measure	O
is	O
necessary	O
due	O
to	O
current	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
underlying	O
WebRTC	B-Protocol
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
need	O
of	O
new	O
client	B-Protocol
software	I-Protocol
installation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
is	O
a	O
proprietary	B-Application
telecommunications	O
application	B-Application
that	O
specializes	O
in	O
providing	O
video	B-Application
chat	I-Application
and	O
voice	B-Application
calls	O
between	O
computers	O
,	O
tablets	B-Device
,	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
,	O
the	B-Device
Xbox	I-Device
One	I-Device
console	O
,	O
and	O
smartwatches	O
over	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
also	O
provides	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
may	O
transmit	O
text	B-Application
,	O
video	O
,	O
audio	O
and	O
images	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
allows	O
video	B-Application
conference	I-Application
calls	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2020	O
,	O
Skype	B-Application
was	O
used	O
by	O
100	O
million	O
people	O
on	O
a	O
monthly	O
basis	O
and	O
by	O
40	O
million	O
people	O
on	O
a	O
daily	O
basis	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
70%	O
increase	O
in	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
daily	O
users	O
from	O
the	O
previous	O
month	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
COVID-19	O
pandemic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Registered	O
users	O
of	O
Skype	B-Application
are	O
identified	O
by	O
a	O
unique	O
Skype	B-Application
ID	O
and	O
may	O
be	O
listed	O
in	O
the	O
Skype	B-Application
directory	O
under	O
a	O
Skype	B-Application
username	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
allows	O
these	O
registered	O
users	O
to	O
communicate	O
through	O
both	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
and	O
voice	B-Application
chat	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Application
chat	B-Application
allows	O
telephone	O
calls	O
between	O
pairs	O
of	O
users	O
and	O
conference	O
calling	O
and	O
uses	O
proprietary	B-Application
audio	O
codec	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
's	O
text	B-Protocol
chat	I-Protocol
client	B-Protocol
allows	O
group	O
chats	B-Protocol
,	O
emoticons	B-Protocol
,	O
storing	O
chat	B-Application
history	O
,	O
and	O
editing	O
of	O
previous	O
messages	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Offline	O
messages	B-Protocol
were	O
implemented	O
in	O
a	O
beta	O
build	O
of	O
version	O
5	O
but	O
removed	O
after	O
a	O
few	O
weeks	O
without	O
notification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
usual	O
features	O
familiar	O
to	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
users	O
—	O
user	O
profiles	O
,	O
online	O
status	O
indicators	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
on	O
—	O
are	O
also	O
included	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SkypeIn	O
,	O
service	O
allows	O
Skype	B-Application
users	O
to	O
receive	O
calls	O
on	O
their	O
computers	O
dialed	O
by	O
conventional	O
phone	O
subscribers	O
to	O
a	O
local	O
Skype	B-Application
phone	O
number	O
;	O
local	O
numbers	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
Australia	O
,	O
Belgium	O
,	O
Brazil	O
,	O
Chile	O
,	O
Colombia	O
,	O
Denmark	O
,	O
the	O
Dominican	O
Republic	O
,	O
Estonia	O
,	O
Finland	O
,	O
France	O
,	O
Germany	O
,	O
Hong	O
Kong	O
,	O
Hungary	O
,	O
India	O
,	O
Ireland	O
,	O
Japan	O
,	O
Mexico	O
,	O
Nepal	O
,	O
New	O
Zealand	O
,	O
Poland	O
,	O
Romania	O
,	O
South	O
Africa	O
,	O
South	O
Korea	O
,	O
Sweden	O
,	O
Switzerland	O
,	O
Turkey	O
,	O
the	O
Netherlands	O
,	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Skype	B-Application
user	O
can	O
have	O
local	O
numbers	O
in	O
any	O
of	O
these	O
countries	O
,	O
with	O
calls	O
to	O
the	O
number	O
charged	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
rate	O
as	O
calls	O
to	O
fixed	O
lines	O
in	O
the	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
supports	O
conference	O
calls	O
,	O
video	B-Application
chats	I-Application
,	O
and	O
screen	B-Protocol
sharing	I-Protocol
between	O
25	O
people	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
for	O
free	O
,	O
which	O
then	O
increased	O
to	O
50	O
on	O
5	O
April	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
does	O
not	O
provide	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
call	O
emergency	O
numbers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
112	O
in	O
Europe	O
,	O
911	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
,	O
999	O
in	O
the	O
UK	O
or	O
100	O
in	O
India	O
and	O
Nepal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
U.S.	O
Federal	O
Communications	O
Commission	O
(	O
FCC	O
)	O
has	O
ruled	O
that	O
,	O
for	O
the	O
purposes	O
of	O
section	O
255	O
of	O
the	O
Telecommunications	O
Act	O
,	O
Skype	B-Application
is	O
not	O
an	O
"	O
interconnected	O
VoIP	B-Application
provider	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
the	O
U.S.	O
National	O
Emergency	O
Number	O
Association	O
recommends	O
that	O
all	O
VoIP	B-Application
users	O
have	O
an	O
analog	O
line	B-Application
available	O
as	O
a	O
backup	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
allows	O
users	O
to	O
send	O
instant	B-Application
messages	I-Application
to	O
other	O
users	O
in	O
their	O
contact	B-Protocol
list	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	B-Protocol
sent	O
to	O
offline	O
users	O
are	O
stored	O
on	O
Skype	B-Application
servers	O
and	O
will	O
be	O
delivered	O
to	O
their	O
recipients	O
as	O
soon	O
as	O
they	O
come	O
online	O
on	O
Skype	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chat	B-Application
history	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
message	O
status	O
will	O
be	O
synchronized	O
across	O
all	O
user	O
devices	O
supported	O
by	O
Skype	B-Application
whenever	O
the	O
user	O
signs	O
in	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
Skype	B-Application
account	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Skype	B-Application
allows	O
sending	O
SMS	B-Device
messages	B-Protocol
,	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
possible	O
to	O
receive	O
SMS	B-Device
messages	B-Protocol
on	O
Skype	B-Application
so	O
users	O
need	O
a	O
different	O
way	O
to	O
receive	O
responses	O
to	O
the	O
messages	B-Protocol
they	O
send	O
using	O
Skype	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
cause	O
of	O
angst	O
among	O
user	O
who	O
purchase	O
Skype	B-Application
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
a	O
mobile	O
phone	O
because	O
Microsoft	O
will	O
not	O
refund	O
any	O
purchases	O
even	O
for	O
users	O
who	O
discover	O
this	O
missing	O
feature	O
only	O
after	O
purchasing	O
multi-year	O
contracts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
than	O
in	O
user	O
complaints	O
on	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Skype	I-Application
forums	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
mention	O
on	O
Microsoft	O
or	O
Skype	B-Application
websites	O
that	O
when	O
they	O
say	O
"	O
Send	O
SMS	B-Device
messages	B-Protocol
,	O
"	O
that	O
is	O
just	O
what	O
they	O
mean	O
:	O
users	O
can	O
send	O
but	O
they	O
cannot	O
receive	O
SMS	B-Device
messages	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
keeps	O
user	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
history	O
on	O
user	O
's	O
local	O
computer	O
,	O
and	O
on	O
Skype	B-Application
's	O
cloud	B-Architecture
for	O
30	O
days	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
cannot	O
control	O
how	O
long	O
their	O
chat	B-Application
histories	O
are	O
stored	O
on	O
Skype	B-Application
's	O
servers	O
but	O
can	O
configure	O
that	O
option	O
individually	O
for	O
every	O
their	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
user	O
signs	O
into	O
Skype	B-Application
on	O
a	O
new	O
device	O
the	O
conversation	O
history	O
is	O
synced	O
with	O
Skype	B-Application
's	O
cloud	B-Architecture
and	O
stored	O
locally	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
allows	O
users	O
to	O
remove	O
or	O
edit	O
individual	O
messages	B-Protocol
during	O
one	O
hour	O
after	O
sending	O
;	O
this	O
affects	O
messages	B-Protocol
already	O
received	O
by	O
chat	B-Application
interlocutors	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
not	O
delivered	O
to	O
them	O
yet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
allows	O
users	O
to	O
delete	O
all	O
saved	O
conversation	O
histories	O
for	O
the	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
proprietary	B-Application
videotelephony	B-Application
product	O
developed	O
by	O
Apple	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
available	O
on	O
supported	O
iOS	B-Application
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
running	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
and	O
later	O
and	O
Mac	B-Device
computers	O
that	O
run	O
and	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
supports	O
any	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
device	I-Operating_System
with	O
a	O
forward-facing	O
camera	O
and	O
any	O
Mac	B-Device
computer	O
equipped	O
with	O
a	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
Camera	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
Audio	O
,	O
an	O
audio-only	O
version	O
,	O
is	O
available	O
on	O
any	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
device	I-Operating_System
that	O
supports	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
7	I-Operating_System
or	O
newer	O
,	O
and	O
any	O
Mac	B-Device
with	O
a	O
forward-facing	O
camera	O
running	O
and	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
is	O
included	O
for	O
free	O
in	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
in	O
macOS	B-Application
from	O
(	O
10.7	B-Application
)	O
onwards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
bought	O
the	O
"	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
"	O
name	O
from	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
Communications	O
,	O
which	O
changed	O
its	O
name	O
to	O
Actiance	O
in	O
January	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
7	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
Apple	O
CEO	O
Steve	O
Jobs	O
announced	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
in	O
a	O
keynote	O
speech	O
at	O
the	O
2010	O
Apple	O
Worldwide	O
Developers	O
Conference	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
the	O
fourth	O
generation	O
iPod	B-Device
Touch	I-Device
(	O
the	O
first	O
model	O
of	O
iPod	B-Device
Touch	I-Device
equipped	O
with	O
cameras	O
)	O
was	O
announced	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
the	O
device	O
's	O
release	O
on	O
September	O
8	O
,	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
for	O
was	O
announced	O
on	O
October	O
20	O
,	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2011	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
found	O
that	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
would	O
work	O
seamlessly	O
over	O
3G	B-Architecture
on	O
all	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
,	O
iPad	B-Device
,	O
and	O
iPod	B-Device
Touch	I-Device
models	O
that	O
supported	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
though	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
worked	O
only	O
over	O
3G	B-Architecture
at	O
that	O
time	O
,	O
it	O
now	O
supports	O
4G	O
LTE	O
calls	O
on	O
networks	O
all	O
over	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
availability	O
being	O
limited	O
to	O
operators	O
 '	O
GSM	O
plans	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
,	O
Apple	O
added	O
group	O
video	O
and	O
audio	O
support	O
to	O
FaceTime	B-Operating_System
which	O
can	O
support	O
up	O
to	O
32	O
people	O
in	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
12	I-Operating_System
and	O
macOS	B-Device
Mojave	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zoom	B-Application
is	O
a	O
videotelephony	B-Application
software	O
program	O
developed	O
by	O
Zoom	B-Application
Video	B-Application
Communications	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
free	O
version	O
provides	O
a	O
video	B-Application
chatting	I-Application
service	O
that	O
allows	O
up	O
to	O
100	O
devices	O
at	O
once	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
40-minute	O
time	O
restriction	O
for	O
free	O
accounts	O
having	O
meetings	O
of	O
three	O
or	O
more	O
participants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zoom	B-Application
is	O
compatible	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
ChromeOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Features	O
include	O
one-on-one	O
meetings	O
,	O
group	O
video	B-Application
conferences	I-Application
,	O
screen	B-Protocol
sharing	I-Protocol
,	O
plugins	O
,	O
browser	B-Application
extensions	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
record	O
meetings	O
and	O
have	O
them	O
automatically	O
transcribed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
some	O
computers	O
and	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
users	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
select	O
a	O
virtual	O
background	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
downloaded	O
from	O
different	O
sites	O
,	O
to	O
use	O
as	O
a	O
backdrop	O
behind	O
themselves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Use	O
of	O
the	O
platform	O
is	O
free	O
for	O
video	B-Application
conferences	I-Application
of	O
up	O
to	O
100	O
participants	O
at	O
once	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
40-minute	O
time	O
limit	O
if	O
there	O
are	O
more	O
than	O
two	O
participants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Features	O
geared	O
towards	O
business	O
conferences	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Zoom	B-Application
Rooms	O
,	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
$50	O
–	O
100	O
per	O
month	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zoom	B-Application
has	O
several	O
tiers	O
:	O
Basic	O
,	O
Pro	O
,	O
Business	O
,	O
and	O
Enterprise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Participants	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
to	O
download	O
the	O
app	B-Application
if	O
they	O
are	O
using	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
or	O
Firefox	B-Application
;	O
they	O
can	O
click	O
on	O
a	O
link	O
and	O
join	O
from	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zoom	B-Application
is	O
not	O
compatible	O
with	O
Safari	B-Application
for	O
Macs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zoom	B-Application
security	O
features	O
include	O
password-protected	O
meetings	O
,	O
user	O
authentication	O
,	O
waiting	O
rooms	O
,	O
locked	O
meetings	O
,	O
disabling	O
participant	O
screen	B-Protocol
sharing	I-Protocol
,	O
randomly	O
generated	O
IDs	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
ability	O
for	O
the	O
host	O
to	O
remove	O
disruptive	O
attendees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
June	O
2020	O
,	O
Zoom	B-Application
began	O
offering	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
to	O
business	O
and	O
enterprise	O
users	O
,	O
with	O
AES	B-Algorithm
256	I-Algorithm
GCM	B-Algorithm
encryption	O
enabled	O
for	O
all	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2020	O
,	O
Zoom	B-Application
added	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
for	O
free	O
and	O
paid	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
's	O
available	O
on	O
all	O
platforms	O
,	O
except	O
for	O
the	O
official	O
Zoom	B-Application
web	B-Application
client	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zoom	B-Application
also	O
offers	O
a	O
transcription	O
service	O
using	O
Otter.ai	B-General_Concept
software	O
that	O
allows	O
businesses	O
to	O
store	O
transcriptions	O
of	O
the	O
Zoom	B-Application
meetings	I-Application
online	O
and	O
search	O
them	O
,	O
including	O
separating	O
and	O
labeling	O
different	O
speakers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
July	O
2020	O
,	O
Zoom	B-Application
Rooms	O
and	O
Zoom	B-Application
Phone	O
also	O
became	O
available	O
as	O
hardware	B-General_Concept
as	I-General_Concept
a	I-General_Concept
service	I-General_Concept
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zoom	B-Application
Phone	O
is	O
available	O
for	O
domestic	O
telephone	O
service	O
in	O
40	O
countries	O
as	O
of	O
August	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zoom	B-Application
for	O
Home	O
,	O
a	O
category	O
of	O
products	O
designed	O
for	O
home	O
use	O
,	O
became	O
available	O
in	O
August	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Duo	I-Application
is	O
a	O
video	B-Application
chat	I-Application
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
announced	O
at	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
developer	I-Application
conference	I-Application
on	O
May	O
18	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
and	O
began	O
its	O
worldwide	O
release	O
on	O
August	O
16	O
,	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
to	O
use	O
via	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
Chrome	B-Application
web	I-Application
browser	I-Application
on	O
desktop	B-Device
and	O
laptop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Duo	I-Application
lets	O
users	O
make	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
in	O
high	O
definition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Duo	B-Application
is	O
based	O
on	O
phone	O
numbers	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
call	O
someone	O
from	O
their	O
contact	B-Protocol
list	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
automatically	O
switches	O
between	O
Wi-Fi	O
and	O
cellular	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
Knock	O
Knock	O
"	O
feature	O
lets	O
users	O
see	O
a	O
live	O
preview	B-Language
of	O
the	O
caller	O
before	O
answering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
December	O
1	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Duo	I-Application
replaced	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
within	O
the	O
suite	B-Application
of	I-Application
Google	I-Application
apps	I-Application
device	O
manufacturers	O
must	O
install	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
gain	O
access	O
to	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
Play	O
Store	O
,	O
with	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
instead	O
becoming	O
optional	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2020	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
Google	B-Application
was	O
planning	O
to	O
eventually	O
replace	O
Google	B-Application
Duo	I-Application
with	O
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
,	O
but	O
would	O
continue	O
to	O
support	O
Duo	B-Application
and	O
"	O
invest	O
in	O
building	O
new	O
features	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
long	O
term	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
messaging	B-Application
app	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
a	O
feature	O
of	O
Google+	B-Application
,	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
became	O
a	O
stand-alone	O
product	O
in	O
2013	O
,	O
when	O
Google	B-Application
also	O
began	O
integrating	O
features	O
from	O
Google+	B-Application
Messenger	B-Protocol
and	O
Google	B-Application
Talk	I-Application
into	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
began	O
developing	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
into	O
a	O
product	O
aimed	O
at	O
enterprise	O
communication	O
,	O
splitting	O
into	O
two	O
products	O
:	O
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
and	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
has	O
also	O
begun	O
integrating	O
features	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
Voice	I-Application
,	O
its	O
IP	B-Application
telephony	I-Application
product	O
,	O
into	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
,	O
stating	O
that	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
is	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
the	O
future	O
"	O
of	O
Voice	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
began	O
transitioning	O
users	O
from	O
the	O
"	O
classic	O
"	O
version	O
of	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
to	O
Meet	B-Protocol
and	O
Chat	B-Application
in	O
June	O
2020	O
,	O
and	O
announced	O
in	O
October	O
2020	O
that	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
would	O
eventually	O
be	O
made	O
free	O
to	O
consumers	O
and	O
fully	O
replace	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
,	O
shortly	O
after	O
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
became	O
free	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
will	O
remain	O
a	O
consumer-level	O
product	O
for	O
people	O
using	O
standard	O
Google	B-Application
accounts	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
has	O
a	O
unique	O
feature	O
in	O
that	O
it	O
allows	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
to	O
be	O
streamed	O
live	O
via	O
YouTube	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
(	O
formerly	O
known	O
as	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
)	O
is	O
a	O
video-communication	B-Application
service	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
two	O
apps	O
that	O
constitute	O
the	O
replacement	O
for	O
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
,	O
the	O
other	O
being	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
User	O
features	O
of	O
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
uses	O
proprietary	B-Application
protocols	O
for	O
video	O
,	O
audio	O
and	O
data	O
transcoding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
has	O
partnered	O
with	O
the	O
company	O
Pexip	O
to	O
provide	O
interoperability	O
between	O
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
and	O
SIP/H.323	O
-based	O
conferencing	O
equipment	O
and	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Features	O
for	O
users	O
who	O
use	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
accounts	O
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2020	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
temporarily	O
extended	O
advanced	O
features	O
present	O
in	O
the	O
enterprise	O
edition	O
to	O
anyone	O
using	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
or	O
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
for	O
Education	O
editions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2020	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
rolled	O
out	O
Meet	B-Protocol
to	O
personal	O
(	O
free	O
)	O
Google	B-Application
accounts	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Free	O
Meet	B-Protocol
calls	O
can	O
only	O
have	O
a	O
single	O
host	O
and	O
up	O
to	O
100	O
participants	O
,	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
250-caller	O
limit	O
for	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
users	O
and	O
the	O
25-participant	O
limit	O
for	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
business	O
calls	O
with	O
Meet	B-Protocol
,	O
consumer	O
calls	O
are	O
not	O
recorded	O
and	O
stored	O
,	O
and	O
Google	B-Application
states	O
that	O
consumer	O
data	O
from	O
Meet	B-Protocol
will	O
not	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
advertisement	O
targeting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
call	O
data	O
is	O
reportedly	O
not	O
being	O
used	O
for	O
advertising	O
purposes	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
an	O
analysis	O
of	O
Meet	B-Protocol
's	O
privacy	O
policy	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
reserves	O
the	O
right	O
to	O
collect	O
data	O
on	O
call	O
duration	O
,	O
who	O
is	O
participating	O
,	O
and	O
participants	O
 '	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
need	O
a	O
Google	B-Application
account	I-Application
to	O
initiate	O
calls	O
and	O
like	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
users	O
,	O
anyone	O
with	O
a	O
Google	B-Application
account	I-Application
is	O
able	O
to	O
start	O
a	O
Meet	B-Protocol
call	O
from	O
within	O
Gmail	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Marco	B-Operating_System
Polo	I-Operating_System
(	O
app	B-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
video	O
messaging	B-Protocol
and	O
video	O
hosting	O
service	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
was	O
created	O
in	O
2014	O
by	O
Joya	O
Communications	O
,	O
founded	O
by	O
Vlada	O
Bortnik	O
and	O
Michael	O
Bortnik	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
markets	O
itself	O
as	O
a	O
video	O
walkie	O
talkie	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
iMessage	O
is	O
an	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
service	O
developed	O
by	O
Apple	O
Inc	O
.	O
and	O
launched	O
in	O
2011	O
.	O
iMessage	O
functions	O
exclusively	O
on	O
Apple	O
platforms	O
:	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
watchOS	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Core	O
features	O
of	O
iMessage	O
,	O
available	O
on	O
all	O
supported	O
platforms	O
,	O
include	O
sending	O
texts	O
,	O
images	O
,	O
videos	O
,	O
and	O
documents	O
;	O
getting	O
delivery	O
and	O
read	O
statuses	O
(	O
read	O
receipts	O
)	O
;	O
and	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
(	O
which	O
means	O
no	O
one	O
,	O
including	O
Apple	O
itself	O
,	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
intercept	O
or	O
tamper	O
with	O
sent	O
messages	B-Protocol
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
all	O
platforms	O
except	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
the	O
service	O
also	O
allows	O
sending	O
location	O
data	O
and	O
stickers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
third-party	O
developers	O
can	O
extend	O
iMessage	O
capabilities	O
with	O
custom	O
extensions	O
(	O
an	O
example	O
being	O
quick	O
sharing	O
of	O
recently	O
played	O
songs	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Launched	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
in	O
2011	O
,	O
iMessage	O
arrived	O
on	O
macOS	B-Application
(	O
then	O
called	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
)	O
in	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2020	O
,	O
Apple	O
announced	O
an	O
entirely	O
redesigned	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
macOS	B-Application
Messages	B-Protocol
app	I-Protocol
which	O
adds	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
features	O
previously	O
unavailable	O
on	O
the	O
Mac	B-Device
,	O
including	O
location	O
sharing	O
and	O
message	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messages	B-Protocol
is	O
an	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
application	B-Application
developed	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
for	O
its	O
Android	B-Application
mobile	I-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Launched	O
in	O
2014	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
supported	O
Rich	O
Communication	O
Services	O
(	O
RCS	O
)	O
messaging	B-Protocol
since	O
2018	O
,	O
marketed	O
as	O
"	O
Chat	B-Application
"	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
April	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
app	B-Application
had	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
billion	O
installs	O
which	O
was	O
most	O
likely	O
due	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
wider	O
roll	O
out	O
of	O
RCS	O
to	O
many	O
different	O
countries	O
without	O
carrier	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Palringo	B-Protocol
,	O
or	O
The	B-Protocol
World	I-Protocol
's	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
Festival	I-Protocol
(	O
WOLF	O
)	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
community-oriented	O
messaging	B-Protocol
and	O
gaming	O
app	B-Application
for	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
platform	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
chat	B-Application
,	O
entertain	O
,	O
and	O
perform	O
on	O
a	O
Stage	O
—	O
live	O
microphone	O
slots	O
for	O
up	O
to	O
5	O
people	O
,	O
form	O
and	O
join	O
large	O
groups	O
based	O
on	O
common	O
interests	O
,	O
send	O
instant	B-Application
messages	I-Application
and	O
drop	O
images	O
and	O
voice	B-Application
recordings	O
into	O
conversations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Launched	O
under	O
its	O
original	O
name	O
of	O
Palringo	B-Protocol
in	O
2006	O
,	O
the	O
app	B-Application
has	O
80	O
million	O
accounts	O
worldwide	O
and	O
offers	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
games	O
along	O
with	O
more	O
than	O
380,000	O
groups	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
which	O
have	O
up	O
to	O
2,500	O
members	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Groupware	B-Application
"	O
refers	O
to	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
varied	O
applications	B-Application
that	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
enable	O
communication	O
amongst	O
members	O
of	O
a	O
team	O
,	O
either	O
within	O
a	O
company	O
,	O
a	O
project	O
,	O
or	O
some	O
other	O
group	O
effort	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
these	O
applications	B-Application
may	O
incorporate	O
a	O
vast	O
range	O
of	O
features	O
and	O
functions	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
single	O
specialized	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
platforms	O
may	O
include	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
,	O
document	O
sharing	O
,	O
visual	O
diagrams	O
,	O
voice	B-Application
conference	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
other	O
team-oriented	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Yammer	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
freemium	O
enterprise	O
social	O
networking	O
service	O
used	O
for	O
private	O
communication	B-Protocol
within	I-Protocol
organizations	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Access	O
to	O
a	O
Yammer	B-Protocol
network	O
is	O
determined	O
by	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
Internet	O
domain	O
so	O
that	O
only	O
individuals	O
with	O
approved	O
email	O
addresses	O
may	O
join	O
their	O
respective	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
later	O
acquired	O
Yammer	B-Protocol
in	O
2012	O
for	O
US	O
$1.2	O
billion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
Yammer	B-Protocol
is	O
included	O
in	O
all	O
enterprise	O
plans	O
of	O
Office	B-Operating_System
365	I-Operating_System
and	O
Microsoft	B-Operating_System
365	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adobe	B-Protocol
Connect	I-Protocol
(	O
formerly	O
Presedia	O
Publishing	O
System	O
,	O
Macromedia	B-Protocol
Breeze	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
Adobe	B-Protocol
Acrobat	I-Protocol
Connect	I-Protocol
Pro	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
suite	O
of	O
software	O
for	O
remote	O
training	O
,	O
web	B-Protocol
conferencing	I-Protocol
,	O
presentation	O
,	O
and	O
desktop	B-Device
sharing	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
chat	B-Application
,	O
whiteboard	O
,	O
note	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Adobe	B-Protocol
Connect	I-Protocol
was	O
formerly	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Adobe	B-Application
Acrobat	I-Application
family	O
and	O
has	O
changed	O
names	O
several	O
times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
,	O
formerly	O
known	O
as	O
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
,	O
is	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
cloud	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
,	O
productivity	B-Application
and	O
collaboration	B-Application
tools	O
,	O
software	O
and	O
products	O
developed	O
and	O
marketed	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
first	O
launched	O
in	O
2006	O
as	O
Google	B-Application
Apps	I-Application
for	I-Application
Your	I-Application
Domain	I-Application
and	O
rebranded	O
as	O
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
in	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
consists	O
of	O
Gmail	B-Application
,	O
Contacts	O
,	O
Calendar	B-Application
,	O
Meet	B-Protocol
and	O
Chat	B-Application
for	O
communication	O
;	O
Currents	O
for	O
employee	O
engagement	O
;	O
Drive	B-Application
for	O
storage	O
;	O
and	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
Docs	O
suite	O
for	O
content	O
creation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Depending	O
on	O
edition	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
may	O
also	O
include	O
the	O
digital	O
interactive	B-Application
whiteboard	I-Application
Jamboard	B-Device
and	O
an	O
option	O
to	O
purchase	O
such	O
add-ons	O
as	O
the	O
telephony	O
service	O
Voice	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
education	O
edition	O
adds	O
a	O
learning	O
platform	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
and	O
as	O
of	O
October	O
2020	O
retains	O
the	O
name	O
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
for	O
Education	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
most	O
of	O
these	O
services	O
are	O
individually	O
available	O
at	O
no	O
cost	O
to	O
consumers	O
who	O
use	O
their	O
free	O
Google	B-Application
(	O
Gmail	B-Application
)	O
accounts	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
adds	O
enterprise	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
custom	O
email	O
addresses	O
at	O
a	O
domain	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
@yourcompany	O
.com	O
)	O
,	O
an	O
option	O
for	O
unlimited	O
Drive	B-Application
storage	O
,	O
additional	O
administrative	O
tools	O
and	O
advanced	O
settings	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
24/7	O
phone	O
and	O
email	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Being	O
based	O
in	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
data	O
centers	O
,	O
data	O
and	O
information	O
are	O
saved	O
directly	O
and	O
then	O
synchronized	O
to	O
other	O
data	O
centers	O
for	O
backup	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
free	O
,	O
consumer-facing	O
services	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
users	O
do	O
not	O
see	O
advertisements	O
while	O
using	O
the	O
services	O
,	O
and	O
information	O
and	O
data	O
in	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
accounts	O
do	O
not	O
get	O
used	O
for	O
advertisement	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
administrators	O
can	O
fine-tune	O
security	O
and	O
privacy	O
settings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
is	O
a	O
communication	O
software	O
developed	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
built	O
for	O
teams	O
that	O
provides	O
direct	O
messages	B-Protocol
and	O
team	O
chat	B-Application
rooms	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
competitors	O
Slack	B-Protocol
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Teams	I-Application
,	O
along	O
with	O
a	O
group	O
messaging	B-Protocol
function	O
that	O
allows	O
Google	B-Application
Drive	I-Application
content	O
sharing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
two	O
apps	O
that	O
constitute	O
the	O
replacement	O
for	O
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
,	O
the	O
other	O
being	O
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
planned	O
to	O
begin	O
retiring	O
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
in	O
October	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
current	O
version	O
is	O
for	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
,	O
(	O
formerly	O
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
until	O
October	O
2020	O
)	O
customers	O
only	O
,	O
with	O
identical	O
features	O
in	O
all	O
packages	O
except	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
Vault	O
data	O
retention	O
in	O
the	O
Basic	O
package	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
October	O
2020	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
announced	O
plans	O
to	O
open	O
Google	B-Application
Chat	I-Application
up	O
to	O
consumers	O
as	O
early	O
as	O
2021	O
,	O
once	O
Hangouts	B-Protocol
has	O
been	O
officially	O
retired	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Slack	B-Protocol
offers	O
many	O
IRC-style	O
features	O
,	O
including	O
persistent	O
chat	B-Application
rooms	O
(	O
channels	O
)	O
organized	O
by	O
topic	O
,	O
private	O
groups	O
,	O
and	O
direct	O
messaging	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Content	O
,	O
including	O
files	O
,	O
conversations	O
,	O
and	O
people	O
,	O
is	O
all	O
searchable	O
within	O
Slack	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
add	O
emoji	B-Application
buttons	O
to	O
their	O
messages	B-Protocol
,	O
on	O
which	O
other	O
users	O
can	O
then	O
click	O
to	O
express	O
their	O
reactions	O
to	O
messages	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Slack	B-Protocol
's	O
free	O
plan	O
allows	O
only	O
the	O
10,000	O
most	O
recent	O
messages	B-Protocol
to	O
be	O
viewed	O
and	O
searched	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
March	O
18	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
Slack	B-Protocol
redesigned	O
its	O
platform	O
to	O
simplify	O
and	O
customize	O
the	O
user	O
experience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Slack	B-Protocol
teams	O
allow	O
communities	O
,	O
groups	O
,	O
or	O
teams	O
to	O
join	O
a	O
"	O
workspace	O
"	O
via	O
a	O
specific	O
URL	O
or	O
invitation	O
sent	O
by	O
a	O
team	O
admin	O
or	O
owner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Slack	B-Protocol
was	O
developed	O
for	O
professional	O
and	O
organizational	O
communication	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
adopted	O
as	O
a	O
community	O
platform	O
,	O
replacing	O
message	O
boards	O
or	O
social	O
media	O
groups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Public	O
channels	O
allow	O
team	O
members	O
to	O
communicate	O
without	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
email	O
or	O
group	O
SMS	B-Device
(	O
texting	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct	O
messages	B-Protocol
allow	O
users	O
to	O
send	O
private	B-Application
messages	I-Application
to	O
specific	O
users	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
people	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Direct	O
messages	B-Protocol
can	O
include	O
up	O
to	O
nine	O
people	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Slack	B-Protocol
integrates	O
with	O
many	O
third-party	O
services	O
and	O
supports	O
community-built	O
integrations	O
,	O
including	O
Google	B-Application
Drive	I-Application
,	O
Trello	B-Application
,	O
Dropbox	B-Application
,	O
Box	O
,	O
Heroku	B-General_Concept
,	O
IBM	B-General_Concept
Bluemix	I-General_Concept
,	O
Crashlytics	B-Application
,	O
GitHub	B-Application
,	O
Runscope	B-Application
,	O
Zendesk	O
and	O
Zapier	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2015	O
,	O
Slack	B-Protocol
launched	O
their	O
software	B-Application
application	I-Application
(	O
"	O
app	B-Application
"	O
)	O
directory	O
,	O
consisting	O
of	O
over	O
150	O
integrations	O
that	O
users	O
can	O
install	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2018	O
,	O
Slack	B-Protocol
announced	O
a	O
partnership	O
with	O
financial	O
and	O
human	O
capital	O
management	O
firm	O
Workday	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
integration	O
allows	O
Workday	B-Application
customers	O
to	O
access	O
Workday	B-Application
features	O
directly	O
from	O
the	O
Slack	B-Protocol
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Discord	B-Application
is	O
built	O
to	O
create	O
and	O
manage	O
private	O
and	O
public	O
communities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
gives	O
users	O
access	O
to	O
tools	O
focused	O
around	O
communication	O
like	O
voice	B-Application
and	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
,	O
persistent	O
chat	B-Application
rooms	O
and	O
integrations	O
with	O
other	O
gamer-focused	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Discord	B-Application
communities	O
are	O
organized	O
into	O
discrete	O
collections	O
of	O
channels	O
called	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
October	O
2017	O
,	O
Discord	B-Application
allows	O
game	O
developers	O
and	O
publishers	O
to	O
verify	O
their	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Discord	B-Application
users	O
can	O
improve	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
servers	O
they	O
reside	O
in	O
via	O
the	O
"	O
Server	O
Boost	O
"	O
feature	O
,	O
which	O
improves	O
quality	O
of	O
audio	O
channels	O
,	O
streaming	O
channels	O
,	O
number	O
of	O
emoji	B-Application
slots	O
and	O
other	O
perks	O
in	O
3	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Possession	O
of	O
"	O
Discord	B-Application
Nitro	I-Application
"	O
,	O
the	O
platform	O
's	O
paid	O
subscription	O
,	O
gives	O
a	O
user	O
two	O
extra	O
boosts	O
to	O
use	O
on	O
any	O
server	O
they	O
like	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Channels	O
may	O
be	O
either	O
used	O
for	O
voice	B-Application
chat	B-Application
and	O
streaming	O
or	O
for	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
and	O
file	O
sharing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kune	B-Application
is	O
a	O
free/open	B-Application
source	I-Application
distributed	O
social	O
network	O
focused	O
on	O
collaboration	B-Application
rather	O
than	O
just	O
on	O
communication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
is	O
,	O
it	O
focuses	O
on	O
online	O
real-time	B-Application
collaborative	I-Application
editing	I-Application
,	O
decentralized	O
social	O
networking	O
and	O
web	O
publishing	O
,	O
while	O
focusing	O
on	O
workgroups	O
rather	O
than	O
just	O
on	O
individuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
aims	O
to	O
allow	O
for	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
online	O
spaces	O
for	O
collaborative	O
work	O
where	O
organizations	O
and	O
individuals	O
can	O
build	O
projects	O
online	O
,	O
coordinate	O
common	O
agendas	O
,	O
set	O
up	O
virtual	B-Protocol
meetings	I-Protocol
,	O
publish	O
on	O
the	O
web	O
,	O
and	O
join	O
organizations	O
with	O
similar	O
interests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
a	O
special	O
focus	O
on	O
Free	B-Application
Culture	I-Application
and	O
social	O
movements	O
needs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kune	B-Application
is	O
a	O
project	O
of	O
the	O
Comunes	O
Collective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Real-time	O
collaboration	B-Application
for	O
groups	O
in	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Maps	O
,	O
mindmaps	O
,	O
Twitter	B-Application
streams	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
