By Mallika Sarna
In a world where nothing remains constant, Everything seems to change in a blink of an eye. Similarly Technology is a dimension with innumerable innovations which grows on an unfathomable scale. In the contemporary times, Individuals cannot imagine their life without being devoted to technology. Technology has made lives easier. The countless innovations taking place everyday have led to a massive growth of competitors in the market.
Mobile technology has helped people speeden up their lives by providing instant access to various apps which help in fast communication between two or more people and making lives efficient of its users besides meeting their entertainment needs. There are multifarious chat applications that are trying to buck up to attract the population of mobile users.
Prominent chat applications that are trying to lure mobile users are Whatsapp ,Line , Wechat, BBM and Hike. There is a strong competition going on between these applications.
WHATSAPP Messenger is a proprietary, cross-platform IM subscription service for smartphones. Whats App has got 430 million active users and is used worldwide.There are features in Whats App that can make chats enjoyable like group chats, location sharing ,Video /picture sharing ,voice chats. There is also automatic address book syncing which contravenes international privacy laws because it forces users to provide access to their entire address book. WhatsApp is a potential weapon for people who want to stalk you, penetrate your life. But there is a common misconception related to Whatsapp. WhatsApp is an Instant Messenger (IM), not a social network.The best form of security that it can provide you is to disallow a person from texting you by blocking him or her.It is completely free with no advertising.
The second famous messenger is LINE which is one of the most popular apps in the world. Line has more than 340 million users worldwide and is used in over 231 countries. Line users exchange text messages, graphics, video and audio media, make free calls, and hold free audio or video conferences. There is optional address book syncing. One famous feature in Line is the Sticker Shop where users are able to purchase virtual stickers depicting original and well-known characters. Drawback in this app, it is not possible to use the same LINE account on multiple devices.The only exception is that it is possible to use the same account on the PC version as well as on one additional device. The app version can only be used on a single device.
Another popular application that is no less than line is WECHAT. WeChat provides multimedia communication with text messaging, hold-to-talk voice messaging, broadcast messaging, photo/video sharing, location sharing, and contact information exchange. It also supports social networking via shared streaming content feeds and location-based social plug-ins to chat with and connect with local and international WeChat users.Drawback is that its taking flak for its censorship policy after users discovered that it is blocking sensitive terms globally.
HIKE, Another excellent chat application which arrived in the market last year in December and is also India’s answer to foreign applications. It was introduced by BHARTI SOFTBANK which is a joint venture between the Indian Bharti and the Japanese firm Softbank. Signing up for hike is pretty easy and quick and quite similar to signing up for WhatsApp. One major difference in hike is the ability to send certain number of free texts to people that are not on hike. And if you’ve been worrying about privacy since a long time,then your concern for privacy shall come to an end after downloading hike as it allows you to hide your activities from unwanted stalkers.It also allows you to share alluring stickers.Some drawbacks ,are its inability to send multiple pictures at once and absence of video calling option like WhatsApp. It is completely free with no advertisements. So if you are looking for a full fledged app,then give hike a try!
Blackberry messenger which is commonly known as BBM is another widely used instant messenger that allows seamless messaging between users. Each user has to share his pin with the others users to add them on their contact list. Exchanging messages is possible to a single person or via dedicated discussion or chat groups, which allow multiple BlackBerry users to communicate in a single session. In addition to offering text-based instant messages, BlackBerry Messenger also allows users to send pictures, voicenotes files, location on a map and a wide selection of emoticons.Blackberry messenger is just available on android,ios and blackberry stores as of now.
So, make sure you don’t get stalked unknowingly. Use and download messengers carefully. Use features with a little more sense and also, who am I to say all this? Its your smartphone and your life.
