New update for WhatsApp users will allow the use of any emoji as a reaction, greatly expanding choice for user chats
News instant messaging
BBM To Close End Of May
The king is dead, long live the king? Consumer version of BBM will be axed, as enteprise addition opens to everyone
WhatsApp Raises Minimum Age To 16
GDPR's approach sees ban on under 16 years old using popular messaging service WhatsApp
Russia To Limit Telegram Messaging App
Russian lawsuit to limit access to Telegram after it refuses to allow FSB intelligence service access
UK Suffers Major Skype Outage
Instant messaging service goes down across Britain this morning
Skype Fixes Text Chat Bug That Causes Perpetual Crashes
Update remedies nasty URL fault in IM chats that caused Skype clients to crash
WhatsApp Web Arrives On Desktop
WhatsApp Web launches for desktop users, but not for iOS users due to “Apple platform limitations”
Skype Removes Rude And Naughty Emoticons
Skype users slap their forehead and shake their heads after Microsoft removes potentially offensive emoticons
Dropbox Buys Workplace Instant Messaging App Zulip
Dropbox looks to boost collaboration tools as part of enterprise push, by buying work chat app
Viber Is Being Sold To Rakuten For $900 Million
Days after it categorically denied acquisition rumours, messaging firm Viber is being bought by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten
Viber Denies Acquisition Rumours
The Cyprus-based messaging start-up is set to remain independent - denying all knowledge of the takeover story
BBM For iPhone And Android Is Downloaded By 10m Users In First 24 Hours
The cross-platform version of BBM is enjoying early popularity
BlackBerry Resumes iPhone And Android BBM Rollout
BlackBerry expects great demand for cross-platform BBM following a month of delays
Twitter Preparing To Launch Direct Messaging App – Report
Twitter could be about to enter the crowded mobile instant messaging market
Cloudforce: Salesforce Chatter Goes Real-Time
Salesforce.com gives its Chatter social network some real time chat
Microsoft Censors Pirate Bay Links In Live Messenger Chat
Live Messenger links to Pirate Bay blacked out by Microsoft
IM Archiving Appliance Released By ArcMail
ArcMail for Instant Messaging is designed to bring compliance and data discovery to IM platforms
Symantec IM Security Cloud Addresses Compliance
IMS.cloud blocks messages that are malicious or violate corporate policy and the user is notified
OpenTouch UC Platform Launched By Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent’s OpenTouch platform offers communications links to any devices, plus multimedia support
Bug Fix Readied For Google+ IM Problem
Google is to fix a problem that allows some Google+ users to see other instant messaging chats
Facebook Launches Free Video Chat With Skype
The social networking giant also adds group chat, improved interface, and reveals it has 750 million users
Cisco’s Jabber Unifies Mobile Services And Devices
Cisco has unveiled its Jabber application to enable business users to communicate any way with any device
Skype Outage Still Hitting Millions of Users
Millions of Skype users are still struggling to connect more than 24 hours after a supernode failure
Review: FaceTime’s USG 3.0 Provides Employee Mangement over IM
FaceTime USG 3.0, due to be shown at the UC Expo in London this week, enables businesses to safely harness the power of collaborative Internet through IM and social networks