Hike Messenger, which was once the Indian reply to WhatsApp, has shutdown officially. Backed by SoftBank Group Corp, disappeared from app stores on Monday.
Started in 2016 by billionaire-family scion Kavin Bharti Mittal has failed to displace Facebook's WhatsApp which remains the country's primary source of messaging.
WhatsApp, meanwhile, has come under fire after announcing its terms of service. While the in-app notification did not elicit much details but clicking on the links clearly mentioned the key changes in how WhatsApp will collect and process users' information going forward, and the partnership with Facebook, its parent company, as part of a larger unification drive between the family of apps.
The update comes in the wake of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's 2020 announcement that the company is working hard to merge Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. And as people read through the lengthy list of data that the app would be collecting under its updated policy, many have been crying foul.
