Messaging apps are a dime a dozen today, and with services like Facebook Messenger, BBM, Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram, and more all vying to be the solution to your communication needs. Now Yahoo is entering the fray with an app of its own.
Yahoo Livetext is a new app that lets two people communicate with live video and text, but no audio. That means that you can see your chat partner and send them messages, but you can’t actually hear them. Yahoo believes that this this makes for a “more authentic” because you get the “ease of texting with the expressiveness of video.” The app also doesn't work for sharing links or media like photos and videos. And once you're done with the conversation, it disappears forever.
Livetext is actually already available in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Ireland. It’ll launch in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, and France tomorrow, July 30. It’ll be available on both iOS and Android.
Livetext’s combination of audio-less video and text is an interesting one. The app could be good for chatting when you need to be silent — say, while you’re at work — and Yahoo also says that it’s good for “quick and non-intrusive” chats. The whole no audio thing is kind of strange, but if Yahoo already rolled the app out in a few places and plans to launch it in five more countries tomorrow, it must be doing ok for itself.
