Viber launches new companion app ‘Viber Wink’

NEW DELHI: Viber, a messaging apps company, has announced the launch of a new companion app called Viber Wink, which allows users to send a photo or short video which will disappear after being seen only once by the recipient.

Free to download from the app store, Viber Wink allows you to take a photo or a short video up to 10 seconds. You can add text to your photo if desired. Wink then gives you the option to set a timer so that your message will delete in 1, 3, 7 or 10 seconds after being viewed by the recipient. (You can also choose not to set a time limit, in which it will be sent as a normal photo or video.) The message will appear within your normal Viber conversations and can be viewed once by the recipient even if they don’t have the Viber Wink app. After they have seen the message, it will disappear based on the selected time limit.

“It’s clear to us that our users want more control over their messages,” said Ofir Eyal, head of product at Viber. “A good example was the highly positive reception to our recent ‘delete message’ feature, which allows you to remotely delete messages even after they have been sent. Wink is another example of putting users in charge, but in a fun way. We hope that Wink actually encourages users to share more by letting them control how their photos and videos are received -- particularly those moments that you may not wish to treasure forever!”

People can begin using Wink for free on iPhone and, Android. Wink requires Viber version 5.7 to work which offers Group Chat features, including the ability to see detailed information about which of your friends have read your message.