Yahoo Launches New Messaging App, Livetext

Yahoo is making a return to the messaging market with its new app, Livetext. This app is currently available for iOS devices in Hong Kong.

Before mobile messaging apps, such as Messenger, Skype and Viber, people did their online messaging on desktops, and Yahoo Messenger was one of the popularly used programs. However, mobile messaging apps have taken over and are now far more popular than Yahoo Messenger.

TechCrunch is the first to take notice of Yahoo’s venture into mobile messaging. The app is available only in the Hong Kong iTunes Store for now, and it is reportedly a combination of mute video and text.

The app description on iTunes says, "Welcome to Livetext for iOS, the most natural way to have REAL conversations. It's live video texting, without sound. You will feel like your friends are right there with you." This means that the app allows the user to see their friends in real-time through video, but the only method of communicating is through text messaging, according to The Verge.

Yahoo notes that users have lost the natural flow of conversation, and its Livetext app aims to bring it back by focusing on words and real-time reactions. The company also stated that audio is “rarely convenient in today’s fast-paced world,” adding that there’s no need for it.

The app requires an internet connection, it could be wireless or mobile data, and it only allows one-on-one conversations. Messaging a friend will initiate a conversation and the video will start once the receiver of the text replies and enters the conversation. From there, users have to simply type into the app’s text box and the messages will appear on the screen over the video.

It is still unknown whether or not the app will be released worldwide. For now, iOS users in Hong Kong can download Livetext for free.

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