Viber facts for kids
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| Original author(s) | Talmon Marco Igor Magazinnik |
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| Developer(s) | Rakuten Viber (part of Rakuten Inc.) | ||||||||||
| Initial release | 2010 | ||||||||||
| Stable release(s) [±] | |||||||||||
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| Preview release(s) [±] | |||||||||||
| Written in | C/C++/Python (desktop, using SIP and Qt frameworks), Objective-C (iOS), Java (Android) | ||||||||||
| Operating system | Cross-platform | ||||||||||
| Type | Instant messaging client, VoIP | ||||||||||
| License | Proprietary software | ||||||||||
Viber, also known as Rakuten Viber, is a popular app for sending messages and making calls over the internet. It works on many different devices like Android phones, iPhones, Windows computers, Apple Macs, and Linux systems. It's owned by a big Japanese company called Rakuten.
Viber is free to use. You sign up with your phone number, but you can also use it on your computer without needing your phone connected. Besides sending instant messages, you can share pictures, videos, and other files. Viber also has a paid service called Viber Out, which lets you call regular phones around the world. By 2018, over a billion people had signed up to use Viber.
The app was first created in 2010 by Viber Media, a company based in Cyprus. Rakuten bought Viber Media in 2014. Since 2017, the company's official name has been Rakuten Viber. It has offices in many cities worldwide, including London, Paris, and Tokyo.
Contents
The Story of Viber
How Viber Started in 2010
Viber Media was founded in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2010. The creators were Talmon Marco and Igor Magazinnik. They had also helped create another file-sharing program called iMesh. The company was run from Israel but was officially registered in Cyprus.
Talmon Marco explained that Viber was designed to make calling and connecting with friends easy. It uses your cell phone number as your ID, which helps it sync with your contacts.
How Viber Started Making Money
For its first two years, Viber didn't make any money. In 2013, it started earning money in two ways. Users could pay for Viber Out calls to regular phones. They could also buy fun pictures called "stickers" from the Viber market.
The company was first funded by friends and family of the founders. They invested about $20 million. By May 2013, Viber had 120 employees.
Rakuten Buys Viber in 2014
On February 13, 2014, the big Japanese company Rakuten announced it had bought Viber Media. The deal was worth $900 million. This sale made a lot of money for the Shabtai family, who owned a large part of Viber.
In February 2017, Djamel Agaoua became the new CEO of Viber Media. He took over from co-founder Talmon Marco, who had left in 2015. In July 2017, Viber Media officially changed its name to Rakuten Viber.
Viber After Being Bought
In 2017, Rakuten Viber worked with the World Wildlife Fund. They aimed to help people learn about and protect wildlife.
In 2020, the International Federation of the Red Cross used Viber to share important information. They created a chatbot and a community to fight false information about COVID-19. This chatbot is still active and has over 1.4 million followers.
Rakuten Viber also worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020. They created a chatbot to share information on topics like women's health and anti-smoking campaigns.
In 2022, Ofir Eyal became the new CEO of Rakuten Viber. He had worked at Viber since 2014.
In July 2022, Rakuten Viber teamed up with Rapyd. They launched a way for people to send money to each other across borders. This payment feature first launched in Greece and Germany.
In May 2022, Rakuten Viber launched a special paid service called Viber Plus. This service offers extra features. These include special stickers, no ads, faster support, and a unique badge.
How Secure is Viber?
Viber has worked to make its app more secure over time. In 2014, it received a low score on a security report. This was because its messages were not fully encrypted from end-to-end. This means the company could potentially see messages.
However, on April 19, 2016, Rakuten announced a big update. Viber version 6.0 added full End-to-end encryption. This means only the sender and receiver can read messages. Viber said its encryption uses similar ideas to the Signal Protocol.
In 2022, Rakuten Viber won a Security Award in Germany. This was given by test.de, a tech company.
How Many People Use Viber?
By December 2016, Viber had 800 million registered users. As of January 2019, about 260 million people used it every month. Viber is very popular in places like Greece, Eastern Europe, Russia, and parts of Asia.
In December 2014, India was Viber's biggest market. It had 33 million registered users there. At that time, 30 million users were in the United States. There were 28 million in Russia and 18 million in Brazil. Viber is especially popular in Eastern Europe. In 2016, it was the most downloaded messaging app on Android in Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. It is also popular in Iraq, Libya, and Nepal.
In 2022, Rakuten Viber saw more users in the Asia Pacific region. The Philippines had a strong 22 percent increase in users.
Viber in Russia
Viber is one of the most popular messaging apps in Russia. In January 2016, Viber had about 50 million users in Russia. This meant it had more users than WhatsApp there.
Viber in Ukraine
As of September 2021, Viber is the most popular messaging app in Ukraine. About 97.7% of people use it. In 2021, 20% of all messages sent on Viber came from Ukraine. Users there sent 97.5 billion messages that year.
In February 2022, Rakuten Group stopped showing ads on Viber in Ukraine and Russia. This was in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, Hiroshi Mikitani, the founder of Rakuten, donated $8.7 million to support Ukraine.
Viber in Bulgaria
Viber is becoming more and more popular in Bulgaria. In 2021, it reached a record 90% market share. The number of calls and messages sent on Viber in Bulgaria went up by 11% in 2021. This meant about 530 million calls and 400 messages per second.
Viber in Greece
By the end of 2021, over 90% of people in Greece had Viber on their phones. This makes it the top messaging app there. In 2022, the city of Athens launched an official Viber community. This helps citizens stay updated on city events and services.
Viber in Serbia
Viber is also the top messenger app in Serbia. As of November 2021, over 90% of Serbians have Viber on their phones.
What Viber Can Do
Where You Can Use Viber
Viber first launched for iPhone on December 2, 2010. It then came out for BlackBerry and Windows Phone in May 2012. The Android version followed in July 2012. By July 2012, Viber had 90 million users.
In May 2013, Viber 3.0 was released. This version included a desktop app for Windows and macOS computers. A version for Linux was released later in 2013. In 2015, Viber also became available for iPad tablets and Apple Watch smartwatches. The computer versions of Viber work with your mobile number. However, they can still work even if your phone isn't connected.
Viber's Main Features
Viber first started as an app for voice calls over the internet. On March 31, 2011, Viber 2.0 came out. This update added instant messaging features. In July 2012, group messaging and better voice quality were added. Today, you can send many types of media files. These include photos, videos, GIFs, other files, audio messages, and stickers.
Fun Stickers
In December 2012, Viber added "stickers" to the app. These are like fun, large emojis. In October 2013, Viber 4.0 launched a "sticker market." This allowed Viber to sell stickers and make money.
Calling Regular Phones with Viber Out
Version 4.0 also brought a "push-to-talk" feature. It also introduced Viber Out. This feature lets users call mobile and landline phones using the internet. You don't need the other person to have the Viber app.
Video calling was added with Viber 5.0 in September 2014.
Public Accounts, Chatbots, and Communities
In November 2016, Viber 6.5 launched Public Accounts. These allow brands and businesses to connect with customers. The app also works with chatbots. These are computer programs that can chat with you.
Viber Communities were launched in February 2018. These are like super-group chats. They can have an unlimited number of people. Regular group chats have a limit of 250 people. Communities protect users' privacy. Admins cannot see members' phone numbers. Members can also message each other privately while keeping their numbers hidden.
Today, there are many different chatbots on Viber. They can provide information, offer quizzes, and more. In January 2023, Viber launched a Business Inbox. This is a special place for users to interact with brands.
In February, Rakuten Viber launched its AI Chat & Create chatbot. This lets users ask questions and design images right in the app. In July, Viber partnered with ICONIQ to bring an AI robot friend named Kuki to users.
Viber Plus Premium Features
In May 2023, Viber Plus was launched worldwide. This is a paid subscription that adds extra features. These include access to more stickers, the ability to change the app icon, and live chat customer support.
In August 2023, two new Viber Plus features came out for iPhone users. "Invisible Mode" lets you read messages and browse privately. "Read Voice Messages" turns voice messages into text.
Sending Money with Viber
In April 2023, Rakuten Viber launched "Payments on Viber" in Cyprus. This allows people to send money to each other instantly and for free. Users in Cyprus can send money to Greece and Germany. They can also send money to other users in Cyprus.
Caller ID Feature
In April, Rakuten added a Caller ID feature. When turned on, it helps identify incoming calls. It can also warn you about possible spam calls. This works even for calls not made through Viber.
Viber Business Accounts
In October 2023, Viber announced new tools for small and medium businesses. Viber Business Accounts let businesses create public profiles. They can share information and product catalogs directly in the app. Businesses can also chat one-on-one with customers.
See also
In Spanish: Viber para niños
- Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients
- Comparison of VoIP software
