<s>
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
(	O
Hangul	B-Operating_System
:	O
카카오톡	O
)	O
,	O
commonly	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
KaTalk	O
(	O
Hangul	B-Operating_System
:	O
카톡	O
)	O
in	O
South	O
Korea	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
mobile	O
messaging	B-Application
app	I-Application
for	O
smartphones	B-Application
operated	O
by	O
Kakao	O
Corporation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
had	O
53	O
million	O
monthly	O
active	O
users	O
,	O
47	O
million	O
inside	O
Korea	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	O
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
most	O
widely	O
used	O
messaging	B-Application
app	I-Application
for	O
smart	B-Application
phones	I-Application
and	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
provides	O
free	O
calling	O
and	O
messaging	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	O
automatically	O
synchronizes	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
contact	O
list	O
on	O
their	O
smartphones	B-Application
with	O
the	O
contact	O
list	O
on	O
the	O
app	O
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	O
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	O
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	O
,	O
coupons	O
and	O
other	O
real-time	O
information	O
through	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
chatrooms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
13	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
released	O
an	O
emoticon	O
monthly	O
fixed-rate	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
subscribing	O
to	O
'	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
Wallet	O
 '	O
,	O
users	O
purchase	O
Emoticon	O
Plus	O
through	O
the	O
wallet	O
platform	O
rather	O
than	O
through	O
in-app	O
payment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
free	O
mobile	O
messenger	O
application	O
for	O
smartphones	B-Application
,	O
revealed	O
its	O
first	O
profits	O
of	O
$42	O
million	O
in	O
2012	O
and	O
$200	O
million	O
in	O
revenue	O
for	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
93%	O
of	O
South	O
Korea	O
's	O
population	O
using	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
on	O
their	O
smartphones	B-Application
,	O
Kakao	O
Corp	O
.	O
has	O
provided	O
users	O
a	O
large	O
range	O
of	O
services	O
including	O
games	O
and	O
retail	O
commerce	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
users	O
have	O
received	O
notices	O
that	O
their	O
messaging	O
accounts	O
were	O
searched	O
by	O
South	O
Korean	O
authorities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Until	O
early-2022	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
South	O
Korean	O
government	O
relaxed	O
COVID-19	O
laws	O
,	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
effectively	O
functioned	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
South	O
Korea	O
's	O
digital	O
vaccine	O
passport	O
platforms	O
(	O
along	O
with	O
several	O
other	O
platforms	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
identitiy	O
of	O
individuals	O
at	O
a	O
venue	O
were	O
available	O
as	O
contact	O
tracing	O
data	O
,	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
also	O
served	O
as	O
a	O
tool	O
for	O
contract	O
tracing	O
by	O
the	O
Korean	O
government	O
until	O
its	O
vaccine	O
passport	O
functionality	O
was	O
discontinued	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kakao	O
has	O
taken	O
steps	O
to	O
make	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
a	O
safer	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2020	O
,	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
introduced	O
Safebot	O
,	O
an	O
AI-based	O
comment-filtering	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
function	O
automatically	O
filters	O
comments	O
that	O
violate	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
’s	O
operational	O
policies	O
such	O
as	O
profanity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
a	O
press	O
release	O
published	O
by	O
Kakao	O
on	O
December	O
14	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
comment	O
culture	O
has	O
improved	O
since	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
Safebot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
a	O
fire	O
in	O
its	O
Seoul	O
data	O
center	O
on	O
15	O
October	O
2022	O
,	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
services	O
were	O
disrupted	O
globally	O
,	O
its	O
"	O
worst-ever	O
malfunction	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
made	O
its	O
platform	O
API	O
available	O
for	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
stack	O
currently	O
supports	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
REST	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
JavaScript	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
is	O
available	O
in	O
15	O
languages	O
and	O
used	O
in	O
over	O
130	O
countries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
massive	O
earthquake	O
hit	O
Japan	O
on	O
March	O
11	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
's	O
messaging	O
traffic	O
in	O
Japan	O
surged	O
as	O
millions	O
of	O
people	O
sought	O
to	O
confirm	O
the	O
safety	O
of	O
friends	O
and	O
family	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
played	O
an	O
important	O
role	O
as	O
a	O
data	O
network-based	O
communication	O
method	O
;	O
it	O
successfully	O
replaced	O
disabled	O
wired	O
and	O
wireless	O
networks	O
and	O
helped	O
connect	O
the	O
disaster-stricken	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
has	O
targeted	O
countries	O
in	O
Southeast	O
Asia	O
where	O
no	O
dominant	O
mobile	O
messenger	B-Application
service	I-Application
stands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
is	O
forming	O
strategic	O
partnerships	O
in	O
Malaysia	O
,	O
Indonesia	O
and	O
the	O
Philippines	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
began	O
airing	O
TV	O
commercials	O
in	O
Indonesia	O
,	O
the	O
Philippines	O
,	O
and	O
Vietnam	O
featuring	O
Big	O
Bang	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
ads	O
,	O
local	O
celebrities	O
and	O
BigBang	O
appear	O
together	O
to	O
promote	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2013	O
,	O
Indonesia	O
became	O
the	O
country	O
with	O
the	O
second-most	O
users	O
of	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
,	O
after	O
South	O
Korea	O
,	O
with	O
13	O
million	O
users	O
and	O
the	O
potential	O
to	O
become	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
's	O
largest	O
market	O
worldwide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
former	O
co-CEO	O
of	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
,	O
Sirgoo	O
Lee	O
,	O
stated	O
"	O
We	O
grew	O
our	O
user	O
base	O
by	O
more	O
than	O
25	O
times	O
in	O
one	O
year	O
,	O
so	O
hopefully	O
,	O
we	O
will	O
continue	O
at	O
that	O
rate.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
has	O
tailored	O
their	O
service	O
to	O
the	O
local	O
environment	O
by	O
collaborating	O
with	O
local	O
designers	O
and	O
companies	O
to	O
generate	O
"	O
Indonesian-specific	O
content	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2014	O
,	O
KakaoTalk	B-Protocol
launched	O
for	O
Nokia	B-Device
Asha	I-Device
500	O
,	O
501	B-Operating_System
,	O
502	B-Device
,	I-Device
and	I-Device
503	I-Device
devices	O
,	O
expanding	O
its	O
reach	O
to	O
users	O
of	O
a	O
wider	O
audience	O
.	O
</s>
