What Is Viber?: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

(Viber)

Viber recently reached a major milestone: 100 million concurrent users. But what kind of app is Viber, exactly? Learn what makes Viber so popular right here.

1. Viber Is an App For Making Free Calls

The video above showcases how easy it is to get started with the Viber app.

Viber is used by millions of people to make free calls. In addition, it can help you send free texts and free picture messages. It is available for desktop computers, Windows 8, Windows Phone, Android, Blackberry, and iOS.

Viber is notable for quickly syncing with your existing contacts, and for not requiring users to register prior to making a call. Viber requires a 3G or Wi-Fi connection to use.

2. Viber Has 100 Million Users

Learn more about Viber in the video above.

TechCrunch writes that Viber has 350 million unique registered downloads. Of those users, 100 million are active concurrently on the service.

Despite the large number of users, this big name app does have some problems to contend with, as TechCrunch notes:

“Viber, though growing, is up against some big challenges. The messaging space is as hot as it can be, especially with Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of Whatsapp.

Not only does Viber face competition from other messaging apps like WhatsApp, Line, KakaoTalk, etc., but it also faces competition from the platforms themselves, like Apple and Android.”

3. Viber Was Recently Acquired by Rakuten for $900 Million

Learn more about the purchase of Viber in the interesting video above.

Rakuten recently paid $900 million to acquire Viber. Rakuten, a Japanese company, also owns many other tech properties. Among Rakuten’s other acquisitions are e-reading platform Kobo, Spanish streaming video service Wuaki.tv, and Viki, a global video streaming platform that crowdsources subtitles.

4. Viber Updated Their Desktop App

Learn more about the Viber desktop app in the video above.

According to PC Mag, Viber just updated their desktop app. The new version of the desktop app has a visual change. Additionally, the new version of the app is more sticker-focused. One thing that people love to do on Viber is communicate via “stickers,” which add a lot of flair to a conversation. Now, the sticker menu is more prominently displayed, and can be docked to the side of the app.

Engadget notes that the sticker communication feature in the new update is a feature that many users will find appealing…and which competitors should take note of.

5. Viber Faces Stiff Competition from WhatsApp & Skype

Learn more about Viber’s cool stickers in the video above.

GSM Arena notes that Viber isn’t the only messaging app that is vying for consumer attention. According to GSM Arena:

“Viber has been evolving rapidly for some time now. The messaging service recently set to challenge Skype with its Viber Out calling service.

The messaging service world is particularly cutthroat nowadays with giants like WhatsApp and Facebook fighting the likes of Skype and BlackBerry Messenger.”