Tuenti facts for kids
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| Private, Limited | |
| Industry | Internet Software Telecommunications |
| Founded | 22 February 2006 |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters | |
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Area served
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Spain Peru Argentina Ecuador Guatemala |
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Key people
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Pablo Ledesma (chief) |
| 21,000,000 EUR (2014) | |
| Owner | Telefónica |
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Number of employees
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180 (2016, approximation) |
Tuenti Technologies, S.L.U. is a company that offers mobile phone services. It uses the brand name Tuenti and is owned by Telefónica, a large telecommunications company. Tuenti started in Spain and focuses on providing services through its own mobile app and website.
Tuenti began in 2006 as a social networking service. It quickly became very popular among young people in Spain. Between 2009 and 2012, it was the most used social network there. With over 15 million users, many people called Tuenti the "Spanish Facebook".
Later, Tuenti changed its focus to offering mobile phone services. In Spain, Tuenti stopped its mobile phone service on June 1, 2022. Customers with contracts moved to O2, and those with prepaid plans moved to Movistar.
Tuenti also offers its brand in several countries in Latin America. These include Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, and Guatemala. In these countries, Tuenti provides free VoIP calls and instant messaging through its special app.
Tuenti's Story
Tuenti was started in 2006 by a group of friends in Spain. The main people who created it were Zaryn Dentzel, Felix Ruiz Hernandez, Kenny Bentley, Adeyemi Ajao, and Joaquín Ayuso de Pául. Zaryn Dentzel first came to Spain as a student. Kenny Bentley, the main programmer, had worked on social networks in the United States.
At first, Tuenti was only for university students. But it became so popular that they opened it up to everyone. For a while, you needed an invitation to join. Later, anyone could sign up, even from other countries, by giving a phone number. Zaryn Dentzel wrote a book about Tuenti's story.
The name "Tuenti" sounds like the English word "twenty." However, it actually comes from the Spanish words "tu [id]enti[dad]," which means "your identity." Tuenti was first made for the Spanish market. But in 2012, it became available around the world. The company had more than 250 employees from over 21 different countries.
In 2009, Google listed Tuenti as one of the fastest-rising searches globally. By 2011, it was estimated that Tuenti accounted for more than 15% of all web traffic in Spain. At that time, this was more traffic than Google and Facebook combined in Spain.
On August 4, 2010, a major phone company called Telefónica bought 85% of Tuenti's shares. They paid 70 million euro for this. Telefónica then became the biggest owner of Tuenti.
In the same year, Tuenti started to develop its own mobile phone service. This service worked using Telefónica's network. In December, this new service was released to social network users under the name "Tu."
By November 6, 2013, Telefónica owned 100% of Tuenti. They bought the rest of the company from the other owners.
Tuenti launched its mobile phone service in Mexico, Peru, and Argentina in 2014.
In 2014, the company reported that its mobile phone business made up 98% of its income. Tuenti's total income for that year was 21 million euro. This was 25% more than the year before. Even though it wasn't making a profit yet, this was the best financial report since they started their mobile business.
In 2015, Sebastian Muriel became the new CEO of Tuenti. During 2015 and 2016, Tuenti changed its brand and focused even more on mobile services. They completely updated their website, removing all the social network features. Telefónica also made changes to the management team. Sebastian Muriel and the social network team moved to Telefónica's innovation department. Pablo Ledesma became the new director of Tuenti.
Mobile Phone Service in Spain
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| Developer(s) | Tuenti Technologies |
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| Operating system | iOS, Android |
| Type | VoIP, Instant Messaging |
| License | Proprietary |
Early Days of the Service
Tuenti launched its mobile service, called "Tu," in 2010. This was supported by Telefónica, which wanted to reach the young people who used Tuenti's social network.
Joining "Tu" was free at first, but it had some rules. You needed an invitation from someone who already used the service. Also, you could only get a new phone number; you couldn't keep your old number from another company. The service was only available as prepaid. The SIM card was sent to customers for free.
During this early phase, the plans offered by "Tu" changed often. They first offered weekly, biweekly, or monthly plans. These plans focused on calls, text messages, and free access to the social network after you added money to your account. About a year later, they started offering plans where you paid after using the service.
Official Launch
On February 15, 2012, the company officially launched "Tuenti Móvil." They stopped using the name "Tu." This official launch brought new plans and removed the invitation system. A month later, they also launched postpaid plans for customers.
One year later, Tuenti announced a better connection between "Tuenti Móvil" and its social network. They called this new feature "ZEROLÍMITES." This idea was to make the brand more appealing to both current and new customers. By this time, fewer people were actively using the social network.
In 2014, Tuenti started to build its own mobile network in Spain. At the same time, it also became recognized as a mobile operator by the ITU. In July, they launched "VozDigital." This feature allowed users to make calls from the Tuenti app. The person receiving the call did not need to have the Tuenti app.
Mobile Phone Service in Other Countries
Mexico
On June 26, 2014, Tuenti officially launched its mobile service in Mexico. They celebrated at an event called Campus Party Mexico. They gave away 2,500 free SIM cards for users to try the service and give feedback.
Two years later, in July 2016, Tuenti quietly stopped its service in Mexico. Customers were automatically moved to Movistar. Tuenti's social media pages for Mexico were also removed. The CEO of Tuenti said that the results in Mexico were not as good as they hoped. This was because of how the phone market worked there.
Argentina
Tuenti replaced another brand called "Quam" in Argentina on November 18, 2014. "Quam" was also owned by Telefónica. From that moment, users could use Tuenti's mobile app to check and manage their services.
Peru
In October 2014, Peru became the third country where Tuenti launched its brand. Peru was also the first country outside of Spain to get "VozDigital." This allowed customers to make calls to any national phone number using almost any device and an internet connection. However, they could not receive calls with this feature.
Ecuador
Tuenti launched its brand in Ecuador on May 29, 2015. They had an advertising campaign called "Libérate," which means "free yourself."
Guatemala
The brand launched in Guatemala on June 22, 2017. They had a big advertising campaign called "Sin Pajas" and used #SinPajas as their main hashtag.
Tuenti as a Social Network
Tuenti was once the most popular social network in Spain. It had all the features common to social media sites. Users could create a profile, upload photos and videos, and connect with friends. It also offered a chat app, the ability to create events, and tagging locations. Unlike other social networks, Tuenti did not use traditional banner ads. They wanted to respect user privacy.
Over time, many users left the social network. Some important features were also removed. The company then decided to focus on being a mobile phone operator instead. Keeping the social network running was no longer making money. On February 1, 2016, information was shared by former employees. They said that the social network would close soon. Just a month later, the company updated its mobile app and website. This update removed all remaining social networking features, except for the chat. It also allowed users to download their old data for a certain time. Users were invited to try new features like VozDigital, using their own phone number to make free calls.
More to Explore
- Comparison of instant messaging clients
- Comparison of instant messaging protocols
- Comparison of VoIP software
- List of most downloaded Android applications
- Mobile VoIP
- Unified communications
See also
In Spanish: Tuenti para niños
