Viber celebrates 10th anniversary

Viber, the cross-platform VoIP & instant messaging service, celebrates its 10th anniversary of connecting people across the globe. Despite occasional hacks and data breaches, Viber has become extremely popular in some parts of the world i.e. Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Vietnam etc. 

Viber started in 2010 with the goal of offering an alternative medium of communication, providing free calls to international mobile users. It has evolved since then by offering a suite of features like messaging, group chats, audio and video calls, communities, and chatbots. The Israeli venture was later acquired by the Japanese internet giant, Rakuten Inc. 

Launching 'communities' in 2018 was also a massive milestone for the company, empowering admins to create supergroup chats to add an unlimited number of people. The year after, the group voice calls feature was launched as well. In 2020, Viber introduced a few features that proved to be essential during the pandemic, such as group video calls, and bolstered its capacities, doubling the maximum number of participants to 20 people at once in Group Video and Audio Calls. In November, the company has also announced its future plans to expand further into the fintech world, introducing its newest chatbot payments solution. 

In Bangladesh, Viber has worked with the ICT Division to bring a chatbot for COVID-19. Through the chatbot, users can do a self-assessment test for COVID-19. Viber has 1.5 core active users in Bangladesh, and this initiative is supporting the Government to keep track of the data. 

Celebrating its 10th anniversary Viber has launched a campaign called, Wheel of Fortune. Under it, users will be able to win various gifts like coupons for restaurants and shops across Bangladesh – BDT 200 discount coupon for Dhakaiya Pakki, 15% deal for The Westin Dhaka, BDT 96 discount for Burger King, 10% deal on Al Amar, and 20% discount for Shoishob Bangladesh. On top of it, users will also get a chance to win a sticker pack.