![]() Selling subscriptions to local numbers fits into that broader push, and it is something that should prove popular. Viber, which is particularly popular in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, has generated direct revenue for a while through various initiatives such as charging for making calls to non-Viber numbers (similar to Skype), selling stickers, and more. Facebook has struggled to monetize its $20 billion WhatsApp acquisition, and only recently has it started making headway by targeting businesses. The first 10,000 people who sign up can also lock in a discount $1.99 subscription for life.Ībove: Viber: Subscribing to a local numberĪchieving scale on messaging apps is a hard enough feat in itself, but once that scale is achieved, it’s not always easy to make money. “From expats who need a local phone number that connects them back home, to global business owners who want overseas clients to feel they are located nearby, this new feature gives them a local presence no matter where they are.” Making moneyĪt launch, Viber Local Numbers can only be purchased for the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., but it said that it expects to add more markets to the mix soon. “The new Viber Local Number enriches our users in a way that makes Viber the most powerful communication app out there,” noted Viber CEO Djamel Agaoua. In effect, this means you can take business calls through your iPad. ![]() There are clear benefits to offering local numbers through a messaging app such as this: Business people can get themselves a local telephone number to deal with clients, even if they’re traveling on the other side of the world friends or relatives can call Viber users at their local rates, without being on Viber themselves and Viber users can access their Local Number across all Android and iOS platforms. The company told VentureBeat that it plans to make the number function bidirectionally in the future. So if someone messages you on your special Viber number asking a question, you won’t be able to respond. ![]() There are caveats with the service for now, though: Viber users can’t call out using their local number, and they can’t respond to text messages using their local number. So lock those settings down as much as you can! One thing we really loved about Viber is in 2020 they joined the #StopHateForProfit campaign (Mozilla did too!) and cut all business ties with Facebook.With Viber Local Number, which has been in closed beta until now, users can pay $4.99 per month to access a local telephone number for anyone outside of Viber to call or text (SMS).įor the caller, it costs whatever their network rates are for calling a local number, while the Viber user doesn’t pay anything extra beyond their monthly subscription. Their ad partners may also combine the data collected about you when using Viber with their outside records to do even more targeting. They collect users’ IP-address location, gender, and age to target these ads, although users can opt out of gender and age targeting if they take the time to change their settings. And it's been reported about 20% of Viber’s revenue comes from ads. As always, it’s good to be careful reading or downloading things from people you don’t know. Also, Viber has had problems with bad people sending lots of spam and viruses. Some things they do we don’t love: When you join a group, your phone number will be visible to all group members, which could be a lot of people, so be careful. Some other good thing they do: Once a message is delivered, it is deleted from their servers so your messages aren’t sitting around where others could potentially access them and you can choose to hide yourself from any of the contacts in your contact list (handy when it comes to that ex of yours!). It's not perfect, but we do like they've been using end-to-end encryption by default since 2016 (except for group calls, those are only encrypted in transit). Especially when compared to other similar messaging apps like Telegram and Whatsapp. Viber seems to do a fairly good job at protecting their users' privacy and security.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |