<s>
GroupMe	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
mobile	O
group	O
messaging	B-Application
app	I-Application
owned	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
launched	O
in	O
May	O
2010	O
by	O
the	O
private	O
company	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2011	O
,	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
delivered	O
over	O
100	O
million	O
messages	O
each	O
month	O
and	O
by	O
June	O
2012	O
,	O
that	O
number	O
jumped	O
to	O
550	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
had	O
over	O
12	O
million	O
registered	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Grouply	O
,	O
the	O
app	B-Application
that	O
would	O
become	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
,	O
was	O
created	O
in	O
May	O
2010	O
,	O
at	O
a	O
hackathon	O
at	O
the	O
TechCrunch	O
Disrupt	O
conference	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
creators	O
,	O
Jared	O
Hecht	O
and	O
Steve	O
Martocci	O
,	O
intended	O
the	O
app	B-Application
to	O
replace	O
email	O
chains	O
as	O
a	O
method	O
of	O
communication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
investors	O
took	O
notice	O
of	O
the	O
app	B-Application
,	O
Hecht	O
and	O
Martocci	O
took	O
a	O
loan	O
from	O
Hecht	O
's	O
parents	O
and	O
began	O
working	O
on	O
their	O
app	B-Application
full	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
was	O
changed	O
to	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
in	O
August	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
month	O
,	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
raised	O
$	O
85,000	O
from	O
investors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
in	O
October	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2011	O
,	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
received	O
US	O
$10.6	O
million	O
in	O
venture	O
capital	O
from	O
Khosla	O
Ventures	O
,	O
General	O
Catalyst	O
Partners	O
,	O
angel	O
investors	O
,	O
and	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2011	O
,	O
Skype	B-Application
acquired	O
the	O
one-year-old	O
start-up	O
for	O
around	O
$80	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Application
had	O
itself	O
been	O
purchased	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
in	O
May	O
2011	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
purchase	O
finalized	O
in	O
October	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	B-Application
underwent	O
a	O
redesign	O
in	O
late	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2019	O
,	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
stopped	O
offering	O
group	O
member	O
limit	O
increases	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
app	B-Application
increased	O
the	O
standard	O
limit	O
from	O
100	O
to	O
5000	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
connecting	O
through	O
a	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	B-General_Concept
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	O
client	O
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	O
through	O
SMS	O
(	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	O
messages	O
,	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	O
clients	O
in	O
educational	O
settings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Students	O
who	O
use	O
GroupMe	B-Protocol
and	O
other	O
social	O
platforms	O
to	O
facilitate	O
discussion	O
in	O
an	O
environment	O
where	O
they	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>
