Yahoo Unveils ‘Livetext’ Audio-Free Video Messaging App

Yahoo Livetext is a new audio-free messaging app, that allows users to chat with friends by sharing video and text but no sound. The iOS app emerged in the Hong Kong App Store a couple of weeks back, as pointed out by TechCrunch, though the company officially introduced it at a press event in New York City today. It’s no brainer that Livetext is an option similar to Snapchat and the likes, though having no voice makes little sense to me.

“Connecting with your friends should be spontaneous, convenient and memorable – but also fleeting, just like a real-life conversation. So today, we’re introducing Yahoo Livetext – a new way to communicate that blends the immediacy, simplicity and ease of texting with the expressiveness of video, without the audio. We see video as a way to make your conversations more authentic, and we see text as a way to connect that’s quick and non-intrusive. We think you’re really going to love it.”

In order to connect with others on Livetext, both users have to agree to become friends with each other. Once you’re connected, one of you can ask to start a Livetext session, then the video starts once the other user joins. Livetext sessions are currently one-on-one, and while Arjun Sethi, Yahoo’s Senior Director of Product Management, said he’s not ruling out the possibility of adding group sessions in the future, it doesn’t seem like that’s a priority.

The app will go live for iOS and Android in the US, UK, Canada, Germany and France tomorrow and, as previously mentioned, it’s already available in Hong Kong, as well as in Ireland and Taiwan.