viber Archives - Page 2 of 3

September 2, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of uncertainties in many industries, and while losses are countless and impactful, the wins though not as many have also provided a ray of hope amid gloomy business forecasts.

The first half of 2020 brought a new set of experiences for the Rakuten Viber team, but also a new set of milestones. Throughout the Asia Pacific region, Viber’s performance has steadily grown, with a 208% growth in messages sent to Communities and a 129% jump in views in Communities compared to the same period last year.

Compared to 2019 data, Viber has recorded an increase of usage in Sri Lanka during the first half of 2020, with a 39% increase in daily activations, and a 34% rise in sending group messages, with a growth of 91% in the number of messages sent in a group. While 1-1 messages increased by 37%, and Community views surged by 118%.

Likewise, the rest of the region experience accelerated activity, especially when it comes to communicating within Groups and Communities. Countries in the Asia-Pacific saw strong growth in the number of messages sent within Viber groups compared to 2019—Philippines at 95%, Myanmar at 41%, Nepal at 67%, Vietnam at 43%, and Bangladesh at 48%. Community Engagement similarly grew, with most countries almost doubling their numbers of Community Views, Myanmar at 106% growth, Nepal at 195% and Philippines at 2.5x increase in community viewers. Bangladesh saw solid growth in their Community Views with their 77% increase.

As one of the largest messaging apps in the world, Viber has also entered into new significant partnerships in the first part of the year, which all focused on providing people with reliable and life-saving information about COVID-19 and individuals with a space where they feel can connect with others amid physical distancing rules.

Similarly in Sri Lanka, Viber launched an ecommerce bot with the biggest supermarket chain Cargills Foodcity that allows users to purchase essential goods that can be delivered to their homes or to be picked up at their closest outlet. National Lottery Sri Lanka also launched its own Viber bot and Community. The bot supports online purchase of lottery tickets and allows people to check the official results and winners of the lottery.

Known for having the largest female customer base in the country, Peoples Bank, launched a special Women’s Day bot and sticker pack. Newsfirst, the only media institution to have 3 different channels catering to each language used in the country (Sinhala/Tamil/English), created not only a bot but also a sticker pack and a Community this year.

As it celebrates its 10th anniversary in December with an exciting line-up of surprises for users, Viber continues to develop as a lifetime app, empowering people to communicate securely, work conveniently, and connect with brands.

With a bold vision to be a lifetime app, Viber has also added several new user-centric features since the start of 2020 to complement the lives of users and provide them with a better app experience. These features are especially relevant now that people are hyper connected to virtual life. My Notes enabled users to sync their to-do lists and media across all their devices. Birthday reminders began appearing on users’ home pages to make it easier for them to know which of their contacts was celebrating their special day. Disappearing messages allowed people to set a limit to the lifespan of sensitive texts, while the one-of-a-kind GIF Creator brought out everyone’s inner creativity with its easy process of turning phone videos into GIFs.

Response to COVID-19 and Growth in Community Engagement

In response to COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent quarantine orders, Viber has increased its capacities and doubled the maximum number of participants to 20 people at once in Group Video and Audio Calls to address the restrictions on face-to-face interactions. Viber is also allowing users to react to messages in Communities, to help bring online communication a step closer to real life convos.

Viber has launched a special chatbot for the World Health Organization, allowing the international agency to share verified information on COVID-19 and answer some of the people’s pressing questions on the coronavirus all within their messaging app. The Philippines’ own Department of Health (DOH) has created its own Viber Community and Kira Chatbot to amplify their online reach and effectively provide crucial updates on the situation in the country. DOH has also used the platform to debunk fake news.

In fact, the top health organizations in countries within Asia-Pacific partnered with Viber to help send verified information on the pandemic on a trusted and widely used platform, such as Myanmar’s Ministry of Health and Sports, Sri Lanka’s Health Promotion Bureau, ICT in Bangladesh, and Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population.

Cutting business ties with Facebook

One of the biggest decisions Viber did in the first half of the year was to cut all business ties with Facebook for continuously mishandling their user data for profit, joining other big companies in standing up against the social media juggernaut in protecting their users. The messaging app, which considers security as one of its core strengths, has immediately pulled out all its ad spending on the social media platform. It has also removed the Facebook Connect and GIPHY features within the app.

“Viber’s continued growth in the Asia Pacific Region shows that despite social distancing protocol imposed by the pandemic, people can continue to maintain quality connections that prioritize their privacy and ease,” says Anna Znamenskaya, Chief Growth Officer for Rakuten Viber. “These past few months, we’ve truly seen how Viber empowers people to make the most out of whatever situation they’re in. With just your smartphone and the Viber app, you can still connect with family and friends, earn a living, have fun online, get verified news, and run errands from the safety of your home.”

With such an impressive streak in the first half of the year alone, Viber vows to push harder to help users seamlessly integrate the messaging app into their lives as the world continues to brace for the long-term effects of the pandemic for the rest of the year and beyond.

“We envision Viber to be your go-to indispensable app that empowers you to accomplish more, and help you keep all those important connections with solutions that are all right at your fingertips,” adds Znamenskaya.

August 30, 2020

Top organizations embrace Viber Communities to help you with everything from grocery shopping and delivering medicine to teaching online.

As communities and businesses in Sri Lanka continue to organize themselves online seeking to connect, respond, and share trustworthy information, Rakuten Viber has fast become a favorite amongst Ministries, News Channels, Financial Institutions and even Artists for one of their most advanced features – VIBER COMMUNITIES.

Communities are pretty much like groups, but bigger, better and safer. This incredible feature has put instant messaging, private forums, and even file sharing, into one hub for collaboration. It’s easy to create or become a part of one, and accessing information is a breeze. For users, it’s much more convenient than receiving a hoard of emails. You can join conversations that are applicable to you, and you’re welcome to skip anything irrelevant.

STRONG, TRUSTED PARTNERSHIPS

Viber Communities consists of a vibrant network of partnerships which provides a great amount of value for its users, especially in this extended state of quarantine where businesses are rapidly moving to online spaces.

As the impact of COVID-19 is still being felt in our cities, Viber Communities has made it much easier to shop for essentials such as groceries, medicines and even the privileged affections such as beauty and self-care products at your utmost convenience while keeping safe.

With customer’s health and security in mind, partners such as Cargills and Sri Lanka Delivery Services conduct trade online, so you can keep to social and physical distancing at all times. Viber Communities allows these partners to communicate a considerable variety of available products, accessible payment schemes, heightened safety measures, and a smooth delivery schedule. Now more than ever, as brands work overtime to make sure that transactions are seamless, the advanced feature from Viber enables customer satisfaction to not only be at par but better than it once was.

Viber partners such as the People’s Bank makes it easy for its users to access the bank’s facilities through Communities. Browse reliable information about their latest products, service upgrades and policies all in a matter of seconds.

You can even connect with your most favorite local Artists and Influencers in a direct, vibrant and authentic way. Celebrities such as BNS, Sachini, Yureni and Dinakshie regularly engage and entertain their raving and loyal fans through this enhanced Communities feature.

EASY ACCESS TO VITAL AND VERIFIED INFORMATION

Avoid confusion and fear gained through misinformation and speculation when you sign up to Communities from the Health Promotion Bureau, World Health Organisation (WHO) Sri Lanka and a host of News Channels.

Viber’s partnerships with official sources make it easier for you to access verified information, stay up to date on the latest news, the pandemic, related precautionary measures and share information responsibly.

RELIABILITY, SECURITY AND PRIVACY

Safety and privacy remain a top priority for Viber and the snazzy Communities feature ensures that members’ mobile numbers stay hidden from other members in the community.

Viber understands the importance of reliability, security and privacy when businesses adopt new digital services- especially messaging and information sharing services. Viber is committed to safeguarding these values as they connect organizations in Sri Lanka to a broader audience while in the comfort of their homes.

The increase in Viber’s performance throughout the Asia Pacific region with a 208% growth in messages exchanged within Communities and a 129% jump in views compared to the same period last year indicates the growing trust and popularity of Viber as a preferred messaging platform.

August 13, 2020

Viber now empowers users to filter messages automatically and decide who can add them to groups, among other privacy-preserving features

Colombo, 12^th August 2020 – Rakuten Viber, one of the world’s leading apps for free and easy communication, announces the launch of several tools to fight spam and ensure user privacy, as well as an option to search for other users by name. The new search capability will be protected with extra privacy measures in accordance with Viber’s strict commitment to ensuring privacy for its users.

As the world changes and messaging apps gain an outsize role in communication, people are constantly looking for additional ways to expand their circles and networks. Yet people today are also bombarded with more information than ever before, and avoiding spam and unnecessary overloads of information is crucial. The challenge lies not in finding connections online, but doing so in a safe and private way. With its new privacy tools, Viber provides the answer.

Viber now allows its users to control who can add them to communities and group chats, whether everyone or only their saved contacts. To set this privacy setting, users simply tap More > Settings > Privacy > Groups > Control who can add you to groups.

Additionally, New community and group chat invitations from unknown senders on Viber will automatically go under the new Message Requests inbox, to keep users’ main chat list tidy and free of unwanted requests.

The new ability to search people on Viber will open opportunities to expand networks, while retaining user privacy to the fullest. Once someone searches a user’s name in the Viber search bar, it will appear in the search results, alongside the user’s profile picture. In the spirit of Viber’s strong stance on ensuring user privacy, any chats initiated through search will be subject to additional privacy measures, including:

Every user’s phone number remains hidden until they share it.
Online status is hidden.
Voice and video calls are disabled.

Users who don’t wish to allow others to find them through search should simply tap More > Settings > Privacy > Let users find you by your name.

People Search on Viber, as well as the Message Requests inbox, will be tested first in select countries before rolling out globally.

“It’s important for users to expand their social circles, but keeping their personal communication space spam-free is the other side of that coin. We are working tirelessly to find the optimal solutions, like the ones we are releasing now, which empower our users to expand their horizons while addressing their safety and privacy,” said Ofir Eyal, COO of Viber.

July 24, 2020

The company announced on #WorldEmojiDay that a range of emotions will be added with its Message Reactions feature in communities, empowering users to express themselves even better

Rakuten Viber, one of the world’s leading apps for free and easy communication, announces the launch of its Message Reactions feature in communities to take “likes” on its platform to the next level. As the demand for instant messaging rises globally, Viber is expanding its users’ creative palette to ensure they can fully express themselves over messages.

In order to react to messages, users simply long-tap the heart icon next to any message and show their like, lol, shock, sadness, or anger. The broad range of emotions empowers users to perfectly react to messages, media, and content shared in their Community. Communication is a two-way street, and it’s important for users to also have the ability to see how their peers have reacted to their messages. To do so, users simply long-tap the message and choose “Info” to see the broad range of expressions others have left on their message.

“Viber is committed to empowering users to express themselves in the most accurate way possible. The ability to simply ‘like’ a message with a heart didn’t encompass the wide range of emotions people can experience when reading a message, and we needed to do more. The Message Reactions feature.

July 14, 2020

The in-app bot lets you play games and earn rewards

Been missing your friends lately? There’s a new way to make the most out of your chats with them. Rakuten Viber, one of the world’s biggest communications platforms, is launching its brand-new Good Vibes Bot, an entertainment bot you can access within your app. With cool games and the chance to earn free stickers and Viber Out credits, it’s a whole new way to enjoy the messaging app!

The Good Vibes Bot lets you keep in touch—and have some fun with friends—in the era of social distancing. After accessing the bot and making your own avatar, you can start playing the game of your choice. Friends can fill each other’s digital slam books, invite others to play, and create new memories. With Games like Basketball, Whack a Mole in the Hole, Chop Chop, Splash, and Egg Party, Viber keeps giving you new ways to have fun with your friends despite the distance.

The bot is just for a single-player game. Thus, you can’t challenge your friends.

The bot not only gives good vibes, but good rewards too. Play hard and make it on the weekly leaderboards—you’ll be awarded with free paid animated and musical sticker packs! Plus, 10 leaderboard players get to win $5 Viber Out credits every month.

Enjoy Viber’s Good Vibes Bot with friends today!

July 7, 2020

The messaging app’s 1 billion users will now be able to create their own GIFs, which include unique features such as boomerang and reverse modes

Colombo, 07^th July 2020 – Rakuten Viber, one of the world’s leading apps for free and easy communication, announces the launch of its GIF creator feature, enabling its users to create fun GIFs to send to their friends and family. As the demand for instant messaging rises globally, Viber’s new GIF feature is a fitting addition to the Group Video Call feature it released last month, as well as group chats for up to 250 people and group voice calls for up to 20 people. The new GIF creator has been launched on iOS and Android will follow in the next weeks.

It’s often said that it’s hard to read someone’s tone over a text message. While emojis can sometimes help, there is still a limit to what can be expressed over text. Viber’s new customizable GIF feature, in addition to its new customizable Sticker feature it already offers, aims to change that, making communication over text more easy and accurate than ever before.

In any chat, Viber’s users can record a short video with the app’s new camera, or select a video from their gallery, and turn it into a legendary looping GIF in boomerang, fast play, or reverse modes.

To turn a video into a new GIF, a user needs to:

Trim the video to select the perfect part to star in the GIF.
Choose a play mode for the GIF—from boomerang for endless looping, to reverse mode, slow-play, and x2 or x4 fast-play.
Style the new GIF with text in various fonts and colors, as well doodles or stickers.

“Especially during these times, Viber is committed to empowering users to express themselves in various ways as they communicate over instant messages. As we like to say at Viber, if an emoji is used to replace a word, GIFs and stickers can replace an entire sentence – and now with our custom GIFs – users can express themselves more accurately and do it in a more funny way.” said Ofir Eyal, COO of Rakuten Viber.

June 26, 2020

Facebook’s data violations and failure to combat violent rhetoric have crossed the line, and Viber is taking relevant measures to cease ad spending, as well as remove product touchpoints, to protect its 1 billion users

Colombo, June 26, 2020 – Rakuten Viber, one of the world’s leading messaging apps for free and secure communication, announces it will cut all business ties with Facebook. The messaging app will remove Facebook Connect, Facebook SDK, and GIPHY, as well as cease all ad spending on the social networking platform, leveling up the growing #StopHateForProfit movement to boycott the tech goliath.

Amid the protests that broke out all over the U.S. over the past few weeks, a group of six organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and NAACP, called on Facebook advertisers to pause their spending on the social networking site during the month of July over the company’s inability to protect users from hate speech. On top of numerous instances of data misconduct, including the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal in which the political consulting firm improperly harvested data of up to 87 million Facebook users, Viber sees Facebook’s hate-speech stumble as the last straw. As such, the messaging app is taking the #StopHateForProfit movement a step further, cutting all business ties with Facebook.

Djamel-Agaoua--Viber-CEO — Djamel Agaoua Viber-CEO

Djamel Agaoua, Viber’s CEO: “Facebook continues to demonstrate poor judgment in understanding its role in today’s world. From the company’s mishandling of data and lack of privacy in its apps, to its outrageous stand of avoiding the steps necessary to protect the public from violent and dangerous rhetoric, Facebook has gone too far. We are not the arbiters of truth, but the truth is some people are suffering from the proliferation of violent content and companies must take a clear stand.”

The actions to remove the relevant Facebook touchpoints from the Viber app are expected to be completed by the beginning of July 2020. Ad spending on Facebook will cease effective immediately.

June 18, 2020

Your data may be at risk, but with apps like Viber, you can stay protected

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, many of us have adapted to the new normal and withdrawn to the safety of our homes. It’s only natural, then, that our internet use has spiked significantly—around 70%, according to Forbes. But now that we work from home, communicate with our distant loved ones, and commune with friends through our devices, our private information is at risk more than ever.

You’ve probably heard of the privacy concerns that plague many of the communications apps that have grown in popularity during the quarantine. These are usually video conference apps or mobile video social networking apps that leave you vulnerable to third parties and data leaks. There are also warnings against using apps designed for contract tracing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Though these apps may be helpful in these times, they do process and store location data in real-time.

People have also turned to the social media to join groups or communities that align with their hobbies and interests. Online marketplaces have also become more active, with people trying to make ends meet in a time of such economic uncertainty. But what people don’t always realize is that some of these public groups expose their profiles to strangers they don’t necessarily trust. Other messaging apps can scan users’ personal and private chats, and use the data for targeting and advertising. Some apps can also access messages and data to give to law enforcement agencies for tracking.

So this leaves us with the question: What app can you really trust with your privacy in the era of social distancing? Rakuten Viber, one of the top messaging apps in the world, gives you several ways to prioritize your security online. This is keeping in line with its commitment to protecting the data of its users. “Unlike other apps, which mine user data to improve their marketing campaigns or to sell to other companies, the personal messages sent via Viber are by default encrypted, which means it is virtually impossible for anyone from Viber to view users’ chat. On Viber, you can be sure that every personal message you send can only be read on the device you send it to.” says Rakuten Viber CEO Djamel Agaoua.

You can even go a step further and follow some guidelines to secure the info on your device. For one, you can check your phone’s Privacy Settings. Here you can see which apps you have and if you’ve granted them permission to access data elsewhere on your phone. If you spot an app that has access to something you don’t want it to, just tap on the toggle switch to turn it off.

If you’re on a shared device, it’s especially important to turn off autofill to protect sensitive info you may have typed in. Of course, you should log out of apps you’ve finished using, so the next user doesn’t see your private profile.

Be vigilant when it comes to the apps you install. Only get apps from trusted stores, like the App Store or Play Store, and only get them if they are trusted and secure. Remember, many apps can actually access your data for collection, commercial, and advertising purposes. Go through every single app on your phone, and keep in mind that each one is a potential privacy problem. You may not think of it, but your even your photo editing suite can be a gateway to your contacts, location, and profile. If you encounter an app that you hardly use anymore, delete it—it will be one less security risk on your phone.

Since Viber is by default encrypted, you don’t need to worry about your data getting leaked or sold. “At Rakuten Viber, we’re proud to say that we put customer privacy first. We will never sell your data. In fact, we can’t even see it in the first place.” says Rakuten Viber CEO Djamel Agaoua.

Moving all your personal interactions online may present some security risks, but if you’re careful with the apps you use and take the measures to protect your privacy online, you can dodge all the traps in the data minefield of the internet and connect with those who matter most with some peace of mind.

About Rakuten Viber:

At Rakuten Viber, we connect people. No matter who they are, or where they are from. Our global user base has access to a range of features like one-on-one chats, video calls, group messaging, and updates and discussions with their favorite brands and celebrities. We ensure our users have a secure and free environment to share their emotions.

Rakuten Viber is part of Rakuten Inc., a world leader in e-commerce and financial services. It is the official communication channel of FC Barcelona, and the official instant messaging and calling app partner of the Golden State Warriors.

Join Viber today and enjoy the world’s best communication experience.

June 8, 2020

You can now video chat on Viber with up to 20 of your colleagues, friends, or family

Viber has launched its new Group Video Calls feature in Sri Lanka, enabling group video calls for up to 20 people with unlimited duration. Inspired by the tremendous success of Viber’s Group Audio Calls feature, the added support for video meets the growing demand for large video calls to replicate face-to-face conversations and conferences.

Social distancing has compelled people to rethink the way they gather in groups, making alternative online meetups not only convenient but necessary. From chefs running cooking classes to yoga instructors training their pupils to master breath cycles, all working groups need a secure, efficient online platform.

Viber’s Group Video Calls are easily accessed from the Viber app, with support for work-friendly features like screen sharing and video broadcasting for both mobile and desktop devices. Together with Viber’s group chats and group voice calls, this new way of face-to-face communication is an ideal way to cope with the new normal.

Starting a Group Video Call is easy. Just tap the new “video” button added to the top of the screen, or simply add more participants to an ongoing video call.

Group Video Calls give the speaker the floor, displaying their video for all participants. Users can choose to privately pin anyone’s video to their personal screen during the call. Users can also mute themselves or disable their video during the call, as well as see if other participants are on mute or if their video is turned off.

“We’re excited to enable users to participate in video calls with up to 20 people, and we’re going to expand this further very soon. Viber serves an important purpose to society, now more than ever, in that it enables users to communicate easily. Video discussions will be part of our lives much more than before, that is why we decided to launch this feature, and bring users another step closer to real, face-to-face meetings when these aren’t an option,” said Ofir Eyal, COO of Viber.

Social distancing doesn’t have to keep us apart. With Viber, you can communicate face-to-face with coworkers, friends, and family while staying healthy and safe.

How did Rakuten Viber do amid the uncertain first half of 2020?

Discover why millions of people use communities from Viber and what it can do for you

Rakuten Viber launches new tools to fight spam on the platform

Viber expands your expressive palette with new Reactions feature in communities

Physically Distant but Never Apart: Connect more with friends in a fun way with Viber’s Good Vibes Bot!

Viber launches feature to let you create your own unique GIF

Viber cuts business ties with Facebook

We’re more online than ever—what does that mean for our privacy?

Viber launches Group Video Calls for up to 20 people together !

Rakuten Viber Reports 4x Higher Call Volume