BackCool new Skype features you probably didn’t know about
Microsoft is adding a bunch of new features to the Skype app for Android and iOS, to bring it at par with the other popular instant messaging apps
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Microsoft’s voice and video calling and instant messaging service, Skype, is an extremely popular app. According to research firm Statista, Skype has 300 million users globally as of November data. In a bid to get more users to sign up and start using the Skype app on their smartphones, Microsoft has added a host of new features.
Video message
While Skype supports video calling for a while, there was no option to send a video message, the way you can on WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. The addition of this feature allows users to record a video message and share it with friends. The receiver can see it whenever he or she opens Skype and can reply with a video message of their own. The good bit is that the video message is streamed, and the recipient does not have to download it to view. In case you want to save it, just long press over the video and select the option to save video to the gallery.
India centric emojis
The emoji feature has become extremely common across messenger apps, especially those related to the popular culture. Skype has added a number of India centric emojis. Expressions like Kya? or Abe! or animations of a man doing bhangra are some of the notable emojis on Skype. Emojis of popular Bollywood actors including Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar making funny faces or delivering one liners from one of their films is something users may like.
Manage chats and contacts
The new update allows more control over contacts and chats. One can access the new options by long pressing the contact name in the contact list or on a message in the inbox. Pressing over the message brings open options such as copy message, quote message and timestamp—it shows the exact time of every chat. Doing the same over the contacts open up options like add to favourites, block contact and remove contact. Features like mark as unread, mute notifications, add different ringtones to different users and the option to delete a chat are some other features that the update has added to Skype.
Search button
The new update adds a search button to the messenger. The feature is already there on a number of messaging services like WhatsApp but was not available on Skype. It allows users to search anything and everything within the Skype app. Just type in the word and if it is present in the contact or a previous chat it will pull it out for you in an instant.
Sharing features
This new features allows users to share photos from the picture gallery on an ongoing Skype chat. The feature is quite common across all popular instant messaging apps such as Whatsapp, but for a Skype user, this is about playing catch up. A user can also copy a message or photo shared with friends in one group or conversation and share with another group or friends.
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