No offence with them but I've been spammed like anything by them. It has happened with lot of my friends. When they install app, it sends texts to ALL contacts without permission prompting to install the app!
And this has been #1 reason I did not install it.
On Data and Airtel, can't blame you for thinking that way. Most of the industry is filled with those kinds. Airtel and BSB are different companies. No such thing happening.
(Creator @hikeapp)
However, I don't think they will get much users. Most of people around me are entrenched in WhatsApp and those who want to try something new get Cubie(I use it as well, it does not spam!)
We learn quick :)
(Creator @hikeapp)
My cynical side worries this is some kind of concession to the wireless carriers that want to easedrop on traffic easily. I hope that's not the case! Anyone know?
No ulterior motives. :)
Eventually we'd like to have it all across.
(Creator @hikeapp)
We'll start looking at that once we hit a certain critical mass, but in much smarter ways. Right now, all focus is on growth and engagement.
PS: I'm the growth hacker at hike.
Hike wants to create an app that goes back to the SMS model where they pay the charges, not the users. They use a mass SMS gateway which is much cheaper. Using mass gateway also means the users must opt out of "Do not disturb" registry, which opens gates for more spam.
Interesting part is, it's backed by a large telco in India[1].
[1] "a 50:50 Bharti Softbank joint venture"
Hence, if we are to achieve our goal of enabling universal communication among all our users, we have to offer SMS as a fallback channel.
And it also gives us a massive differentiating edge over other apps, so why not.
The whole "users opting out of the DND registry" is something that's controlled by TRAI, the Telecom regulatory body of India. We have no control over it.
It's not the ideal flow we'd like to offer users, but we've to work with what we have.
We're funded by the group which also backs a large telco in India, but we're separate companies.
Short answer: No. We won't monetize through ads
(Creator @hikeapp)
Ultimately, it's going to be a "content and connections" play, but the initial focus has to be on growth, otherwise you're just putting the cart before the horse. :)
"Hike TOS:
hike may receive data whenever You connect with an application or site through hike (such as during status update, when You connect to other sites and in which case hike posts to these sites on Your behalf ). This may include date and time You visit the site, the web address, IP address information, browser and if You are logged into hike and Your authentication tokens used on such sites. Your authentication tokens may be saved on the server for the sole purpose of seamless posting to the same site by You in the future through hike.
We may share non-personally-identifiable information (such as anonymous user usage data, referring / exit pages and URLs, platform types, asset views, number of clicks, etc.) with third-parties to better understand usage patterns for certain content, services, advertisements, promotions, and/or functionality related to hike application."
So you store "authentication tokens", and maybe FB and Google+, twitter data interactions....I think you are aiming for this goldmine, since normally this data through Airtel's network will be encrypted. Pardon my skeptic viewpoint, but it looks you are not aiming for directly monetizing this app itself but are building a satellite platform based upon this app.
2. non-personally-identifiable information is something every app collects and should do so. It helps us understand our how to serve our users better. With respect to 3rd parties - see 'Kontagent' for example. They're a super smart data analysis company. Why re-invent the wheel. Again, a standard industry practice.
Hope that puts your skeptical viewpoints to rest :)
Our differentiators are: 1. A beautiful UX/design 2. The ability to message everyone through hike/SMS
#1 works everywhere and has driven growth for us globally. #2 combined with #1 gives us a compelling proposition for Indian users, the first market we intend to dominate. It's very powerful for a market like India where more than 80% mobile users have yet to experience data.
The unit economics in the long term are quite favorable and we expect to have a positive average LTV across the user base.
It's going to be tough, but we're betting we can do it. Just wait and watch. ;)
Anyhow, I'm just talking business. I wish your team good luck. I really want India to move forward in tech. This might help achieve that.
I got interested as to what is their value proposition and why are they doing it. Then I came upon this information. Here is the nitty gritty.
From their TOS:
We may share non-personally-identifiable information (such as anonymous user usage data, referring / exit pages and URLs, platform types, asset views, number of clicks, etc.) with third-parties to better understand usage patterns for certain content, services, advertisements, promotions, and/or functionality related to hike application.
hike may receive data whenever You connect with an application or site through hike (such as during status update, when You connect to other sites and in which case hike posts to these sites on Your behalf ). This may include date and time You visit the site, the web address, IP address information, browser and if You are logged into hike and Your authentication tokens used on such sites. Your authentication tokens may be saved on the server for the sole purpose of seamless posting to the same site by You in the future through hike.
They store the "Authentication tokens"...
Whatsapp doesn't do sms. Users who receive hike signed smses might eventually move on to hike. So eventually more users will mean less costs for hike. That sounds like a viable business model.
The sms differentiator is good. All hike has to do is bear the costs of smses until most users are on hike and hope that the competition does not start offering the same service. Do you have any patents which can help you?
We do have a pending patent application for the same.
(Creator @hikeapp)
On Data and Airtel, can't blame you for thinking that way. Most of the industry is filled with those kinds. Airtel and BSB are different companies. No such thing happening.
1. "Authentication Tokens" are stored only with user permission. Why? So we can seamlessly allow the user who gives us permission to post to FB, Twitter. Its standard industry practice.
2. non-personally-identifiable information is something every app collects and should do so. It helps us understand our how to serve our users better. With respect to 3rd parties - see 'Kontagent' for example. They're a super smart data analysis company. Why re-invent the wheel. Again, a standard industry practice.
Have a skim through any other messaging apps terms and I'm sure you'll see nothing different.
Anything else?