<s>
Mxit	B-Protocol
(	O
pronounced	O
"	O
mix	O
it	O
"	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
free	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
application	O
developed	O
by	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
(	O
Pty	O
)	O
Ltd	O
.	O
in	O
South	O
Africa	O
that	O
ran	O
on	O
over	O
8,000	O
devices	O
,	O
including	O
feature	B-Device
phones	I-Device
,	O
Symbian	B-Language
S60	I-Language
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
BlackBerry	B-Application
,	O
iPhone	O
,	O
iPad	O
,	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
and	O
tablets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
a	O
study	O
by	O
consultancy	O
World	O
Wide	O
Worx	O
,	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
had	O
7.4	O
million	O
monthly	O
active	O
subscribers	O
in	O
July	O
2013	O
,	O
of	O
which	O
6.3	O
million	O
were	O
South	O
Africans	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mxit	B-Protocol
originates	O
from	O
Stellenbosch	O
,	O
a	O
university	O
town	O
in	O
South	O
Africa	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
SMS	B-Device
based	O
and	O
was	O
not	O
successful	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
high	O
cost	O
of	O
SMS	B-Device
since	O
GPRS	O
was	O
still	O
not	O
widely	O
implemented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2003	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
reassessed	O
and	O
the	O
MXit	B-Protocol
concept	O
was	O
conceived	O
by	O
Herman	O
that	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
MXit	B-Protocol
has	O
evolved	O
to	O
become	O
a	O
major	O
IM	O
player	O
in	O
the	O
South	O
African	O
arena	O
thereafter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2004	O
Clockspeed	O
Mobile	O
became	O
independent	O
and	O
on	O
July	O
1	O
,	O
2006	O
,	O
became	O
MXit	B-Protocol
Lifestyle	I-Protocol
(	O
Pty	O
)	O
Ltd	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
competitor	O
2go	B-Protocol
overtook	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
in	O
term	O
of	O
users	O
across	O
Africa	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2011	O
,	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
South	O
African	O
investment	O
group	O
,	O
World	O
of	O
Avatar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
abrupt	O
resignation	O
of	O
then	O
boss	O
,	O
Alan	O
Knott-Craig	O
,	O
Jr.	O
,	O
Francois	O
Swart	O
received	O
the	O
nod	O
from	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
to	O
become	O
the	O
new	O
CEO	O
(	O
Mzekandaba	O
,	O
2013	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Former	O
First	O
National	O
Bank	O
CEO	O
Michael	O
Jordaan	O
was	O
announced	O
chairman	O
of	O
the	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
board	O
in	O
September	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
shutting	O
down	O
of	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
was	O
announced	O
on	O
October	O
23	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
public	O
statement	O
by	O
the	O
company	O
after	O
user	O
numbers	O
dropped	O
dramatically	O
over	O
the	O
last	O
2	O
–	O
3	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Competition	O
from	O
other	O
social	O
platforms	O
such	O
as	O
Blackberry	B-Application
Messenger	I-Application
,	O
and	O
,	O
later	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
and	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
along	O
with	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
's	O
own	O
lack	O
of	O
technological	O
advances	O
in	O
the	O
social	O
arena	O
attributed	O
to	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
closure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2016	O
,	O
active	O
users	O
of	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
were	O
notified	O
that	O
the	O
service	O
would	O
be	O
closed	O
on	O
September	O
24	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mxit	B-Protocol
was	O
first	O
released	O
as	O
a	O
mobile	O
phone	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
client	O
,	O
and	O
required	O
Java	O
(	O
J2ME	B-Language
)	O
and	O
internet	O
connectivity	O
via	O
CSD	O
,	O
GPRS	O
,	O
3G	O
or	O
Wifi	O
to	O
run	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
built	O
for	O
feature	B-Device
phones	I-Device
,	O
versions	O
were	O
also	O
released	O
for	O
BlackBerry	B-Application
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
iPhone	O
,	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
Mobile	I-Operating_System
devices	O
and	O
tablets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
one-on-one	O
and	O
group	O
chat	O
functions	O
,	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
offered	O
public	O
chat	O
zones	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
apps	O
and	O
a	O
games	O
ecosystem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mxit	B-Protocol
was	O
available	O
on	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
mobile	O
and	O
computing	O
platforms	O
,	O
each	O
independently	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mxit	B-Protocol
operated	O
in	O
many	O
international	O
markets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mxit	B-Protocol
was	O
officially	O
supported	O
in	O
Malaysia	O
,	O
India	O
,	O
Indonesia	O
,	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
,	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
Nigeria	O
,	O
Brazil	O
,	O
France	O
,	O
Germany	O
,	O
Italy	O
,	O
Portugal	O
,	O
and	O
South	O
Africa	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2007	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
commissioned	O
their	O
European	O
Data	O
Centre	O
located	O
in	O
Frankfurt	O
,	O
Germany	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2010	O
,	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
launched	O
in	O
Kenya	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
the	O
first	O
country	O
outside	O
of	O
South	O
Africa	O
to	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
full	O
range	O
of	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
November	O
4	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
Mxit	B-Protocol
scored	O
0	O
out	O
of	O
7	O
points	O
on	O
the	O
Electronic	O
Frontier	O
Foundation	O
's	O
secure	O
messaging	O
scorecard	O
.	O
</s>
