Bharti SoftBank’s free instant messaging application ‘Hike‘ has crossed 20 million users mark, with 5 million added during the last three months.
Hike was launched globally in December 2012, the company went from 5 to 15M users in 9 months and the added to its base, the next 5M in just 3 short months. Close to 90% of the app’s users are from India and over 80% of its users are under the age of 25.
“India has almost a 100M active mobile internet users in the country and that number is growing rapidly every year. That’s the market, which we’re building for. The rate at which hike messenger has grown in the last 18 months is phenomenal and is a strong testament of the right direction in which the product is steering. We will continue to focus heavily on introducing new and innovative features to bridge the existing gaps in the IM market in India”, said Kavin Bharti Mittal, Head, Product and Strategy, Hike messenger.
A big addition to hike’s unique features bouquet is the ‘Big File Transfer’, equipping users to share all file formats, from Docs, PPTs, PDFs to MP3s, of up to a 100MB each, surpassing the attachment limit of all IM apps and even email clients. Hike users no longer have to share files via emails or transfer over SD Cards.
The company also announced the availability of industry first; exciting new feature, ‘Hidden Mode’, that helps users keep their private chats hidden from others.
“Today, we’re also excited to announce ‘Hidden Mode’ in hike. You can now hide your private chats, such that no one even knows they’re hidden, and access them only with the right password. In a country like India, where teenagers stay with their parents and families; where their need for privacy is constantly challenged; we believe this feature could be a boon for all our users. We’re building all new features basis the feedback of our beta-users called the hike ninjas. This approach is working really well for us and going forward we expect it to help us grow even faster”, adds Kavin Mittal.
Hike is available globally on iOS, Android, Blackberry, BB10, WP, S40, S60 and Noxia X; and is made in India.
