Pan-African focused messaging app, Ayoba is celebrating its second year since launch with the release of its android app (0.38) with voice and video calling capability for its users. Already, the app boasts of a user base of 5.5 million monthly users along with an award for thr Best Mobile application for 2020.
According to Nolan Wolff, Head of ayoba, ‘Users have been asking us to support VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls pretty much since day one.’
‘And we are extremely pleased to be able to answer their call with this new release. All that’s required is for both parties to upgrade to the latest version of the Android app. This is available immediately from the Google Play Store and our website at ayoba.me.’
With the second year anniversary, a lite version of its web browser has also been deployed allowing users to message contacts from within a standard web browser, which could be either from their desktop or a compatible smartphone.
Ayoba lite is designed as a ‘space saver’ for users who are short on memory space on their device and prefer not to download the app. ‘Ayoba lite has been built as a progressive web app (PWA),’ explains Wolff. ‘This allows us to provide much the same core functionality as our full-featured Android app but contained within a standard web browser. This makes ayoba accessible to a very broad audience and we expect to reach an entirely untapped market segment. The initial Beta version of the PWA is independent of the Android app but it will evolve to allow a user to easily switch between platforms.’ Ayoba lite can be accessed on web.ayoba.me.
Speaking on the milestone, Oliver Prentout, Head of Consumer Marketing at Ayoba says it is an immence achivement,
‘5.5 million users is an immense milestone for a two year old application,’ says Olivier Prentout.
‘It’s crazy to think that two years have gone by since we launched in Cameroon as our first territory and initial partnership with MTN. The app has changed so much, adding channels, music, games, micro-apps, MTN MoMo in some territories and more. Localisation has been a key focus for us and we are very proud that users can access the app in 22 languages.’ Prentout continues, ‘We have over 130 content channels in 7 languages including Arabic, Dari, Pashto, IsiZulu, English, Kinyarwanda and French to name a few. There is something for everyone. Help is available to all users with our in app How To channel or via our virtual assistant Aya’.
Following issues of privacy that other messaging apps like Whatsapp has been bedevilled with in recent times, the company recently reassured its users that it’s not possible for messages in the app to be read by anyone, or shared to any third parties.
It says the app features peer-to-peer private messaging which are end-to-end encrypted. A user’s contacts and location are only available to other users if explicitly shared by the account owner. Users can feel confident that their private data will remain private, and is treated with the utmost care and respect. More information can be found in ayoba’s comprehensive Privacy Policy at ayoba.me/privacy-policy.
The messaging app also has a partnership with MTN which allows MTN customers an allocation of free data to use with ayoba features. Allowances range from 50MB daily to unlimited usage depending on the country users are in, this is however with an exception of Benin.
