<s>
Hike	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
,	O
also	O
called	O
Hike	O
Sticker	O
Chat	O
,	O
was	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	O
which	O
was	O
launched	O
on	O
12	O
December	O
,	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
worked	O
offline	O
through	O
SMS	B-Device
and	O
had	O
multi-platform	B-Operating_System
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
launched	O
globally	O
on	O
12	O
December	O
2012	O
by	O
founder	O
Kavin	O
Bharti	O
Mittal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
buying	O
US	O
based	O
free	O
voice	O
calling	O
company	O
Zip	O
Phones	O
in	O
2015	O
,	O
Hike	O
started	O
providing	O
free	O
voice	O
calling	O
over	O
cellular	O
network	O
and	O
WiFi	O
across	O
the	O
globe	O
,	O
before	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
by	O
optimizing	O
voice	O
quality	O
while	O
using	O
low	O
bandwidth	O
which	O
packs	O
more	O
minutes	O
per	O
megabyte	O
(	O
MB	O
)	O
of	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
version	O
5.0	O
,	O
it	O
became	O
the	O
first	O
social	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
app	O
to	O
start	O
a	O
mobile	O
payment	O
service	O
in	O
India	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2019	O
,	O
Hike	O
announced	O
collaboration	O
with	O
Indraprastha	O
Institute	O
of	O
Information	O
Technology	O
,	O
Delhi	O
(	O
IIIT-D	O
)	O
for	O
developing	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
(	O
AI	B-Application
)	O
,	O
machine	O
learning	O
(	O
ML	O
)	O
,	O
natural	B-Language
language	I-Language
processing	I-Language
(	O
NLP	B-Language
)	O
,	O
speech	O
,	O
link	O
prediction	O
,	O
deep	B-Algorithm
learning	I-Algorithm
and	O
computer	B-Application
vision	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	O
was	O
creating	O
a	O
smaller	O
smart	O
team	O
of	O
employees	O
with	O
game	O
designers	O
,	O
crypto-economists	O
and	O
psychologists	O
to	O
understand	O
the	O
emerging	O
digital	O
landscape	O
and	O
create	O
a	O
new	O
type	O
of	O
block-chain	B-Application
economy	O
for	O
its	O
newly	O
launched	O
service	O
called	O
Hike	O
Land	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
15	O
April	O
2014	O
,	O
Hike	O
is	O
offering	O
unlimited	O
free	O
SMS	B-Device
called	O
Hike	O
Offline	O
through	O
credits	O
,	O
earned	O
by	O
users	O
from	O
regular	O
chatting	O
for	O
offline	O
use	O
to	O
get	O
a	O
seamless	O
experience	O
as	O
connectivity	O
is	O
still	O
a	O
major	O
issue	O
in	O
many	O
parts	O
of	O
India	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	O
also	O
started	O
showing	O
live	O
Cricket	B-Application
scores	O
in	O
collaboration	O
with	O
Cricbuzz	O
,	O
news	O
,	O
casual	O
games	O
,	O
social	O
media	O
feed	O
,	O
while	O
one	O
can	O
do	O
shopping	O
,	O
recharge	O
and	O
ticket	O
booking	O
with	O
Hike	O
Wallet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	O
launched	O
version	O
3.5	O
as	O
the	O
biggest	O
update	O
for	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
8.1	I-Protocol
during	O
December	O
2015	O
which	O
changed	O
the	O
user	O
interface	O
for	O
more	O
simpler	O
navigation	O
,	O
supported	O
sending	O
unlimited	O
non-media	O
files	O
and	O
documents	O
of	O
any	O
format	O
and	O
better	O
group	O
admin	O
settings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
26	O
October	O
2016	O
,	O
Hike	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
rolled	O
out	O
the	O
beta	O
version	O
of	O
a	O
video	B-Application
calling	I-Application
feature	O
ahead	O
of	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
starting	O
with	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
users	O
which	O
also	O
lets	O
recipients	O
preview	O
a	O
video	B-Application
call	I-Application
before	O
deciding	O
to	O
take	O
it	O
and	O
is	O
optimized	O
to	O
even	O
work	O
under	O
2G	O
conditions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2017	O
,	O
Hike	O
launched	O
group	O
voting	O
,	O
bill	O
splitting	O
,	O
checklists	O
and	O
event	O
reminders	O
for	O
group	O
chat	O
that	O
supports	O
up	O
to	O
1,000	O
users	O
both	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
platform	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	O
launched	O
another	O
feature	O
called	O
Hike	O
Land	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
virtual	O
world	O
with	O
beta	O
trial	O
to	O
start	O
from	O
March	O
2020	O
,	O
that	O
will	O
use	O
Hike	O
Moji	O
where	O
online	O
users	O
with	O
their	O
digital	B-Application
avatar	I-Application
can	O
hang	O
out	O
with	O
other	O
users	O
and	O
will	O
be	O
built	O
inside	O
the	O
Hike	O
Sticker	O
Chat	B-Application
application	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2017	O
,	O
Hike	O
announced	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
version	O
5.0	O
with	O
multiple	O
new	O
features	O
like	O
User	O
Chat	O
Themes	O
,	O
Night	B-General_Concept
Mode	I-General_Concept
and	O
Magic	O
Selfie	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
feature	O
was	O
first	O
rolled	O
out	O
to	O
Android	B-Application
users	O
followed	O
by	O
iOS	B-Application
users	O
at	O
a	O
later	O
stage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2019	O
it	O
launched	O
the	O
Web	B-Application
App	I-Application
beta	O
version	O
of	O
Hike	O
Sticker	O
Chat	O
which	O
enable	O
its	O
users	O
to	O
chat	O
over	O
their	O
personal	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	O
Web	O
was	O
created	O
ensuring	O
a	O
seamless	O
experience	O
for	O
users	O
with	O
a	O
strong	O
focus	O
on	O
privacy	O
and	O
security	O
keeping	O
that	O
in	O
mind	O
Hike	O
increased	O
network	O
security	O
to	O
AES-256	B-Algorithm
and	O
TLS	O
1.2	O
,	O
which	O
makes	O
communication	O
over	O
a	O
web	O
client	O
more	O
secure	O
than	O
ever	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	O
Moji	O
is	O
a	O
digital	B-Application
avatar	I-Application
of	O
a	O
user	O
based	O
on	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
(	O
AI	B-Application
)	O
,	O
natural	B-Language
language	I-Language
processing	I-Language
(	O
NLP	B-Language
)	O
and	O
machine	O
learning	O
(	O
ML	O
)	O
generated	O
imagery	O
created	O
by	O
taking	O
a	O
selfie	O
,	O
for	O
variety	O
of	O
localized	O
Indianised	O
expressions	O
with	O
1000	O
customized	O
options	O
like	O
more	O
than	O
350	O
hairstyles	O
,	O
20	O
different	O
facial	O
features	O
,	O
bindis	O
,	O
local	O
clothing	O
style	O
,	O
nose	O
pins	O
with	O
local	O
twist	O
and	O
mood	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
beta	O
version	O
1.0	O
was	O
rolled	O
out	O
on	O
15	O
November	O
2019	O
for	O
both	O
android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	B-Application
vision	I-Application
and	O
deep	O
neural	O
networks	O
enable	O
the	O
platform	O
to	O
search	O
around	O
100	O
trillion	O
combinations	O
of	O
facial	O
shape	O
and	O
color	O
reflecting	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
looks	O
within	O
a	O
few	O
seconds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
stable	O
version	O
1.0	O
can	O
now	O
create	O
100	O
quintillion	O
combinations	O
of	O
stickers	O
with	O
seamless	O
addition	O
to	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inspired	O
by	O
local	O
diversity	O
of	O
the	O
country	O
,	O
HikeMoji	O
now	O
is	O
the	O
largest	O
platform	O
for	O
hyper	O
local	O
avatar	B-Application
creation	O
in	O
India	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
article	O
from	O
10	O
December	O
2012	O
published	O
on	O
German	O
website	O
Spiegel	O
Online	O
where	O
app	O
testers	O
of	O
MediaTest	O
Digital	O
found	O
out	O
while	O
analyzing	O
the	O
data	O
traffic	O
of	O
Hike	O
version	O
1.0.5	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
that	O
it	O
transmits	O
messages	O
,	O
phone	O
numbers	O
and	O
unique	O
device	O
identification	O
number	O
(	O
UDID	O
)	O
unencrypted	O
and	O
has	O
full	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
phone	O
address	O
book	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
called	O
out	O
that	O
these	O
deficiencies	O
in	O
Hike	O
are	O
even	O
more	O
undeniable	O
than	O
those	O
made	O
in	O
the	O
past	O
in	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	O
uses	O
a	O
128-bit	O
Secure	B-Protocol
Sockets	I-Protocol
Layer	I-Protocol
encrypted	O
firewall	B-Application
server	O
for	O
the	O
exchange	O
of	O
media	O
and	O
text	O
messages	O
on	O
Wi-Fi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
a	O
user	O
choosing	O
whom	O
to	O
share	O
their	O
last	O
seen	O
and	O
profile	B-Application
pictures	I-Application
with	O
,	O
the	O
app	O
also	O
supports	O
an	O
industry	O
first	O
hidden	O
mode	O
with	O
a	O
pattern	O
lock	O
feature	O
for	O
extended	O
user	O
privacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
June	O
2019	O
,	O
all	O
chats	O
and	O
calls	O
are	O
now	O
being	O
protected	O
by	O
128-bit	O
Advanced	B-Algorithm
Encryption	I-Algorithm
Standard	I-Algorithm
and	O
2048	O
Rivest	B-Architecture
–	I-Architecture
Shamir	I-Architecture
–	I-Architecture
Adleman	I-Architecture
public-key	B-Application
cryptosystems	I-Application
and	O
messages	O
stored	O
locally	O
on	O
a	O
device	O
are	O
auto	O
backed-up	O
to	O
its	O
cloud	O
server	O
with	O
zero	O
data	O
consumption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
data	O
stored	O
on	O
hike	O
servers	O
is	O
completely	O
encrypted	O
with	O
an	O
AES-128	B-Algorithm
algorithm	O
with	O
strong	O
Key	O
and	O
Salt	O
stored	O
in	O
a	O
completely	O
different	O
key	O
management	O
system	O
(	O
KMS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2018	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
announced	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
Total	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
customized	O
version	O
of	O
Android	B-Application
that	O
uses	O
its	O
own	O
proprietary	O
technology	O
called	O
UTTP	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
Unstructured	O
Supplementary	O
Service	O
Data	O
(	O
USSD	O
)	O
protocol	O
that	O
is	O
supported	O
by	O
nearly	O
all	O
GSM	O
phones	O
that	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
access	O
services	O
on	O
their	O
mobile	O
even	O
in	O
the	O
offline	O
mode	O
or	O
without	O
internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	O
teamed	O
up	O
with	O
mobile	O
carriers	O
and	O
OEMs	O
for	O
Total	O
,	O
with	O
device	O
makers	O
bundling	O
a	O
tweaked	O
version	O
of	O
Android	B-Application
that	O
makes	O
Hike	O
the	O
default	O
text/call	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
access	O
essential	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
Messaging	O
,	O
News	O
,	O
Horoscope	O
,	O
Recharge	O
,	O
Wallet	O
,	O
Cricket	B-Application
Scores	O
and	O
Rail	O
information	O
even	O
without	O
an	O
active	O
internet	O
connection	O
with	O
services	O
taking	O
less	O
than	O
100	O
kb	O
to	O
1	O
MB	O
of	O
size	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
n't	O
available	O
for	O
download	O
on	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
as	O
it	O
is	O
exclusive	O
to	O
handset	O
models	O
produced	O
by	O
partner	O
original	O
equipment	O
manufacturers	O
(	O
OEMs	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
January	O
2019	O
,	O
29	O
percent	O
of	O
internet	O
users	O
in	O
India	O
use	O
Hike	O
as	O
a	O
messenger	O
or	O
VoIP	B-Application
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
announced	O
that	O
it	O
crossed	O
five	O
million	O
monthly	O
transactions	O
within	O
five	O
months	O
of	O
Hike	O
Wallet	O
's	O
launch	O
at	O
a	O
30	O
percent	O
month	O
after	O
month	O
growth	O
which	O
by	O
December	O
2017	O
increased	O
to	O
ten	O
million	O
monthly	O
transactions	O
at	O
a	O
100	O
percent	O
month	O
after	O
month	O
growth	O
rate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Around	O
January	O
2016	O
,	O
Hike	O
spokesperson	O
told	O
Press	O
Trust	O
of	O
India	O
journalist	O
that	O
Facebook	B-Application
blocked	O
an	O
option	O
in	O
its	O
advertisements	O
which	O
allows	O
people	O
to	O
visit	O
the	O
Hike	O
official	O
website	O
which	O
they	O
assumed	O
to	O
be	O
an	O
initial	O
technical	O
glitch	O
,	O
but	O
later	O
Facebook	B-Application
confirmed	O
that	O
certain	O
products	O
and	O
services	O
ca	O
n't	O
be	O
advertised	O
on	O
its	O
platform	O
which	O
stopped	O
the	O
Hike	O
ads	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Facebook	B-Application
has	O
not	O
publicly	O
responded	O
to	O
Hike	O
's	O
allegations	O
whereas	O
it	O
's	O
worth	O
noting	O
that	O
Facebook-owned	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
is	O
the	O
rival	O
service	O
to	O
the	O
Hike	O
messaging	B-Application
app	I-Application
in	O
the	O
Indian	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
1	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
app	O
pranked	O
its	O
users	O
with	O
"	O
HikeCoin	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
modeled	O
after	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
for	O
direct	O
cash	O
transfers	O
by	O
announcing	O
that	O
a	O
photo	O
of	O
real	O
monetary	O
note	O
,	O
attached	O
and	O
sent	O
to	O
friends	O
would	O
make	O
the	O
physical	O
note	O
invalid	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hike	O
also	O
announced	O
that	O
all	O
the	O
Hike	O
Stickers	O
could	O
still	O
be	O
used	O
on	O
other	O
messaging	O
platforms	O
such	O
as	O
Signal	O
,	O
Whatsapp	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Telegram	O
by	O
downloading	O
"	O
Stickers	O
by	O
Hike	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
