Hike free messaging application for cross-platforms, which is funded by Bharti Soft Bank, has crossed the 15 Million user milestone, tripling its user base within just 9 months. Hike is one of the fastest growing mobile applications to be born out of India.
Commenting on the feat, Kavin Bharti Mittal, Creator, Hike messenger, said, “We’re super proud to announce our first 15 million. We are seeing great traction for hike amongst the youth and what’s amazing is that over 80% of our user base is under 25. Despite the proliferation of instant messaging apps in India, hike is growing faster than ever. We’ve observed that the youth, today, want to move away from mass platforms to a place where they can express more, within a closer set of friends. Hike is that destination.”
The company states that over 80% of their user base is comprised of users, under the age of 25. To cater to the youth market, hike offers a unique feature – Last Seen Privacy where one can choose to share their ‘Last Seen’ and ‘Status Updates’ with a chosen set of friends, while continuing to message others and even those that don’t have a smartphone or data connection.
The app also makes messaging a whole lot more expressive by adding localized sticker packs such as ‘Things Indians Say’ and a playful Bollywood pack. Hike Offline is another India-centric feature that lets users send free messages to their friends who’re offline. With a number of users in India hopping in and out of wi-fi and data networks; this feature is a boon to keep messaging seamless.
In another industry-first innovation, the company introduced 2-way Chat Themes, allowing users to change the chat background for both them and their friends; adding a whole lot more context to conversations.
Hike is available globally on iOS, Android, Blackberry, WP, S40, S60 platforms.
