Yahoo Enters The Messaging App Market With Livetext

This article originally appeared on 60 Second Social.

Thought we had enough messaging apps? Well to be honest we do have enough messaging apps, but that is not stopping Yahoo from launching their own, Livetext. Livetext is an app which allows users chat with friends by sharing video and text but no sound.

The Livetext app was spotted in the App Store in Hong Kong a number of weeks ago and has been available in Taiwan and Ireland as well. Yahoo declined to comment at the time, however the company demonstrated the app at a press conference in New York yesterday as it made its official debut where it is now being introduced to five new countries – USA, UK, Canada, Germany and France.

Two Yahoo employees shared footage with each other via Livetext and then they started texting each other through the app. The text messages appear superimposed on the video. To connect on Livetext, both users agree to be friends. You can then start a Livetext session and when both users are connected the video starts.

via Techcrunch

If you are unable to join Livetext the same time as your friend then you simply receive each others text messages instead. Livetext is currently a one-on-one app and it is unclear if group functionality may be added at a later date. So what is the point of having an app with text and video but no audio?

Adam Cahan, Yahoo’s senior director of video, design and emerging products, said that the experience becomes simpler with less stress when you take audio away from the equation. You’re more likely to start a quick video session if you are in the middle of something else and even if there is a lot of background noise where you are because sound is not present on the app.

The whole thing has a very Snapchat feel to it, almost like a version of Snapchat lacking audio. However Cahan says that Yahoo does not see this as a competitor to Snapchat.

“I don’t think so, people use lots of communication tools.”

Yahoo believes that they have created a brand new way of communicating, the problem is that they are very late to the game and there are a lot of messaging and communication apps now on the market. Do we really need another way of communicating? Personally I don’t think so, however this could be the next big messenger service for Snapchat’s generation. You can check out Yahoo’s video below and hit up the links if you want to download the app on iOS or Android.

Download From Google Play

Download From App Store

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About The Author

Mark is the founder of 60 Second Social media where he provides social media news and digital marketing analysis. He has an Advanced Diploma in Psychology and a Diploma in Digital Marketing And Social Media. You can follow him on Twitter here. You can also follow 60 Second Social on Twitter here. Or you can drop Mark an email at, daltomark@me.com