An Apple iPhone is shown with the Beejive IM (instant messaging) software
An Apple iPhone is shown with the Beejive IM (instant messaging) software during "CES Unveiled," a media preview event, at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada January 5, 2010. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Teens in India are starting to use the new Hike app that allows them to flirt in private. The app is developed through a venture between SoftBank Corp. and New Delhi-based Bharti Enterprises Pvt.

The reason for so many teens to download the app is because most Indian parents are very inquisitive on knowing what their children are doing with their phone. The Hike app allows the user to hide messages and this feature is drawing many teens towards it.

The free call and messaging feature is available in many apps, but what make this different is its unique privacy settings and this is what took it to the top, surpassing Whatsapp Inc. and Facebook Inc. on the Android download charts in India. BhartiSoftbank announced that the app has 35 million users, a 15 million rise in users since its last announcement of 20 million customers.

Hike is a free app and the aim is to keep it free from advertisements as well said Kavin Bharti Mittal, who runs the venture's product and strategy business in an e-mail to Bloomberg news.

Justin Lee, a Seoul-based analyst with BNP Paribas SA, said that India being highly populated and considering the fact that the smartphone penetration is slow, it is definite that it would become a big market. "There is no single dominant messaging app player in India", said Justin.

Even with half a billion global users, Whatsapp has only 48 million active users in India so the potential for Hike to grow is immense. Hike has several features that make it distinct from the rest.

Privacy settings

Targeting young people, Hike has introduced a Hidden Mode feature in which the messages can be protected with a password. This feature is available on the android operating system. The developers are also going to release a version for the Microsoft Corp's Windows System. The feature has become a huge success, according to Verma, forty percent of the users hide more than one conversation. "The need for privacy is heavily felt in this market", she said.

A mix of traditional texting and smartphones

The app offers users to send traditional messages free of cost if there is no internet available. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers nearly 70 percent of the smartphone users have limited access to the internet so this has created a buzz among the teen and the service is highly appreciated.

An all in one app

Hike allows users to send stickers, unique smileys and voice messages. It also provides the option of attaching any kind of file and sending them across. Files like PDF, ZIP, Doc, PPT and APK could also be sent. Additionally, it allows users to share large files and videos up to 100 MB.