According to a report by AFTVnews, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) may be creating its own messaging app called “Anytime.” The retail giant has started to survey its customers to determine what features consumers want, but it’s not clear what the final app will look like.
Anytime appears to be an “all-in-one feature rich service that could even rival social media networks.” The app would include messaging, voice and video calls, and photo sharing. It would rival other messaging apps created by large companies like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) , Apple, (NASDAQ:AAPL) , and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) as they fight each other to have the most users.
The app would also feature video and photo filters, similar to what Snapchat (NYSE:SNAP) and Instagram offer.
Anytime would compete with smaller start-ups as well, like Signal, which offer encrypted services to make it difficult for law enforcement to see what users send to others. Encrypted features are largely absent from larger social media platforms.
Amazon has already made inroads to this market, announcing Chime earlier this year. A video conferencing app for its business users, Chime was designed to compete with other existing business programs, like Skype for Business and WebEx.
Alexa and Echo products can currently call and chat with one another as well. The new Anytime app could help its voice-activated products contact each other and help Amazon create its own social media network.
Amazon has not officially announced this new app yet, so it is unclear if and when Anytime will be launched.
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