Hike Messenger crosses 20 mn users base

Free messaging app Hike Messenger today touched the 20 mn users’ base. The app was launched 1.5 years back in December 2012.

Out of the total base, about 90% of the app’s users are from India and over 80% of its users are under the age of 25.

The company went from five to 15 mn users in nine months and added to its base another five mn in three months.

Kavin Bharti Mittal, head, product and strategy, Hike Messenger, said, “India has almost a 100 mn 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.”

One of its key features was‘Big File Transfer’ — which helps 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.

Meanwhile, the company also announced another new feature — ‘Hidden Mode’ — that helps users to keep their private chats hidden from others.

“With '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 these 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 Mittal.

Hike is available globally on iOS, Android, Blackberry, BB10, WP, S40, S60 and Noxia X.