WebRTC World Feature Article Free eNews Subscription

May 07, 2014

Wheelings & Dealings: Snapchat Acquires WebRTC Company AddLive


For millions of Snapchat users, something changed last week, and over the weekend with the photo sharing application. The design and layout were updated, but there is also a new function that most social networking applications turn to as the missing link: messaging. The company put the “chat” in “Snapchat” last week by introducing a private messaging feature and video chat service – and it turns out, WebRTC was behind the move.

WebRTC is an HTML5 technology that enables peer-to-peer real-time communication over a browser. This means getting on a video call, transferring files or sharing screens are as easy as clicking on a URL. WebRTC functionality can also be embedded into applications, which is where a lot of developers are investing time and energy.

The new feature on Snapchat allows users to join video chats within seconds across different devices and platforms, which AddLive helps make possible. At the WebRTC Conference & Expo in Santa Clara, AddLive demonstrated its service used across major mobile devices platforms as well as unsupported WebRTC browsers and other devices like Google Glass. At the time of the event, AddLive was deployed to more than 5,000 businesses and serving around 250,000 users through applications like Doctor on Demand, Wello and Face2Face. Those numbers have increased substantially with the integration in Snapchat.

“We are very happy to announce that AddLive is joining Snapchat. While we have no immediate plans to add new customers to the platform, we intend to continue providing our ongoing video chat services to some of the most innovative companies in the world. Our special thanks go out to all our early customers and everyone who has helped us along the way. We look forward to continuing our journey with Snapchat,” Kavan Seggie, AddLive CEO, wrote in a company blog post. He said the company was not responding for comment on the move.

The company was recognized with the “Best WebRTC Tool” award at the Santa Clara event, and it looks like that was properly awarded as it was selected by Snapchat over other companies.

Snapchat is far from seeing its demise. The company is reportedly working with mobile news startup NowThis News, which is built around short and viral-friendly clips of news stories and looks to social media as a distribution channel for news. When the new Snapchat feature was announced last week, it made a call for people to send leads for stories, and is using the Snapchat story feature to produce features – something many companies and media outlets are already taking advantage of to engage with users and share content.

Check out the new Snapchat messaging feature below: 

Want to learn more about the latest in WebRTC? Be sure to attend WebRTC Conference & Expo, June 17-19 in Atlanta, Ga. Stay in touch with everything happening at the event -- follow us on Twitter.




Edited by Maurice Nagle
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]




FOLLOW US

Free WebRTC eNewsletter

Sign up now to recieve your free WebRTC eNewsletter for all up to date news and conference details. Its free! what are you waiting for.