Free messaging app Hike eyes 10 mn users by December

Users can send 100 free monthly SMS irrespective of their operator using Hike

News | by CIOL Correspondent

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Instant messaging app, Hike - a part of Bharti SoftBank (BSB) - unveiled on Wednesday new feature updates and announced its availability on BlackBerry (OS v 5.0+).

The app's 5 million user base now can send messages to offline users and also communicate with non-Hike users, in addition to the Walkie-Talkie feature that allows users to send voice messages.

The company has also enabled privacy-proof Last Seen feature that allows users to view the previous login of those in their circle. In order to enrich conversations, the app offers fun stickers that allow users to express themselves in way of plugging in caricatures. These include popular Bollywood faces and other expressions.

BSB Product and Strategy head, Kavin Bharti Mittal, said that with the new user-friendly features, they are taking messaging to the next level. The app, launched in December 2012, has over 5 million users today and handles over 1 billion messages a month. Nearly 60 per cent of Hike users are Indians. The app works on iOS, Android, WP and S40, while new features are available on App Store and Google Play.

"We handle 73 per cent Hike2Hike messages, while 27 per cent of them are Hike2SMS," he said. Users can send 100 free monthly SMS irrespective of their operators, he added. Hike users can also avail 50 additional SMS on every referral.

BSB said that they have a system in place to control spam messages. The company is also working on monetization roadmap. "Before actually embarking on monetization, we want to get 10 million active users," said Mittal.

It is also working closely with operators such as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, and is expected to embrace Nokia Asha for this app.