Yahoo launches new messaging app to compete with WhatsApp, Snapchat

Multinational technology company Yahoo has launched a new messaging app, Livetext, to take on the likes of Whatsapp and Snapchat.

Livetext enables users to send text based messages, emoticons and videos but without audio.

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“We wanted to create a new way to communicate, blending the simplicity of texting with the emotion and immediacy of live video, to make your experience spontaneous and real,” said Yahoo’s Adam Cahan, at Livetext’s media launch event in New York City.

"We wanted to find that new and expressive way of communicating," he added.

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Yahoo said that in certain contexts users are not willing to communicate via audio. Further, it said audios in video calls undermine one's privacy so LiveText enables users to view videos without audio.

Livetext is now available for Apple and Android devices in the UK, US, Canada, France and Germany.

This article originally appeared on BBC.