Viber provides a secure environment for cryptocurrency communities support
Q: In your opinion, is it possible (appropriate) to apply the technology of blockchain for messengers? Are there any messengers working on blockchain technology?
Messengers provide an environment for people to discuss a variety of topics. It’s possible to apply blockchain technology for messengers, with restrictions that ensure the privacy, security and integrity of users and the services themself are being preserved.
In the past year, several messengers have attempted to jump on the blockchain bandwagon. The challenge is many of them are simply focused on their ICO and not the safeguards needed to keep everyone protected. Whether it’s blockchain or a basic message, we take our users’ security very seriously. We’ve got end-to-end encryption set as a default for messages and have developed moderation features to protect the privacy of users who start group chats, enabling them to block spammers, scammers and inappropriate content. If any messenger attempts blockchain, security must be a priority.
Q: Is there a system of protection against the scam in your messenger? At the moment, there are a lot of unfair players in the crypto sphere trying to steal users' money. Is there a system of protection against fraudulent mailings in your messenger?
We believe that the majority of our users join Communities to participate in a genuine conversation and share their knowledge and information about Cryptocurrency. Knowing that, our main priority is to provide Community members with a platform for a free yet safe and private experience. To make sure we provide the best privacy protection for our users, we support our Communities with a variety of features to ensure a secure environment:
- Verified Communities: We’ve created a Community verification feature, that protects from scams and spam through a vetting process. Only Communities that have been verified are currently searchable.
- Anonymity: Community members have all of the benefits of traditional group chats, including the ability to reach out and start a group and/or private conversation, without disclosing their personal phone number. This is a feature that we plan to fully roll-out soon.
- Anti spam mechanism: Community members can easily and quickly block any inappropriate or spam message and remove users who spam the conversation.
We created Communities to provide users with a safe platform to have a voice with others, while staying true to our commitment of protecting users’ data and privacy. To maintain the integrity and security of each and every Community, we’re rolling out more security and moderation features, such as the ability to permanently ban users, this year.
Q: Please outline the main problems of modern messengers. Is it possible to solve them shortly?
The main problem of messengers today centers around the need to offer users as many activities and utilities within the app as possible while preserving their privacy. It’s a balance that frankly other messengers do not care to have. They’re completely exposing the content and data of their users for the sake of offering them as many services as possible. There are solutions to solve this problem and we’re going to great lengths to offer them.
A perfect example are group chats. More and more people want to connect with others on their interests, hobbies and passions. However with that can come risk of inappropriate messages, content or simply a group of people just “shouting” at each other all day long. That’s why we believe that Communities are the group chat solution for modern messengers. And while the majority of messaging apps support group chats up to 250 users only, Viber facilitates larger conversations, with up to 1 billion members, with 100% reach of messages to all participating members and moderation tools that ensure that both the core values of the Community and member privacy are kept in tact.
Q: What should a crypto community pay attention to when choosing a messenger?
When choosing a messaging app, crypto community should look for the following:
- Privacy features such as anonymous messaging and data protection
- Some sort of encryption technology to provide safety and security
- Moderation features that make it simple to manage and maintain the quality of the group conversation at scale
- Tools to reach out to its users organically and scale the group in and outside the app.
If one is looking to lead a crypto community, having access to analytics about the onboarding process and engagement would be a top priority. We are introducing Community leaders with insights into their community, which is helping them to improve and optimize quickly.
When building and growing a CryptoCommunity, look for monetization options. We understand that a group chat of any kind requires maintenance, and that consumes time and efforts from leaders. Having a messenger that provides ways to monetize is crucial to growth and that’s an opportunity we are looking at investing major efforts in.
Q: Do you plan to use blockchain or cryptocurrency technology in your system soon?
Viber’s plans for cryptocurrency will be aligned with our parent company, Rakuten. As announced earlier this year at Mobile World Congress, Rakuten will likely be tied to their successful Super Points program.