TORONTO – BlackBerry says it has seen over 20 million new users join the BBM platform since the release of its iPhone and Android app last week.
The Waterloo, Ont.-based company said Tuesday that BlackBerry Messenger now has more than 80 million monthly active users, including over 20 million iPhone and Android users who waited patiently to receive their “pin” and start using the app.
“It is great to see so many people downloading BBM, but the true measurement for us is engagement – the connections being made and the conversations in which our BBM community engages. The power of BBM has always been the active, real conversations and interaction that our customers enjoy,” said Andrew Bocking, Executive Vice President of BBM at BlackBerry in a press release.
“From here on out, we will focus on active users of BBM and will no longer focus on simple download numbers.”
The BBM app reached over 10 million downloads in the first 24 hours of being available, according to the company.
Read More: BBM app reaches over 10 million downloads in first day
When the app was released, users were forced to sign up for the app on a fire-come-first-serve basis – leaving over five million potential users “in line” for a pin number on the first day alone.
However, BlackBerry said Tuesday that it removed the virtual line up feature from the app, allowing iPhone and Android users to immediately start using the app after they have downloaded it.
During the first week, BBM was the top free app in 35 countries in the Google Play store and in 107 countries in Apple’s App Store.
As of Tuesday the app still held the top spot in the App Store and Google Play in Canada.
BBM became popular with BlackBerry users because it allows texting in real-time on a secure server, without having to use an SMS text package from a service provider. The service’s secure server also made it a popular choice for BlackBerry enterprise customers.
Demand for the app is in stark contrast to other news about the Canadian smartphone maker, whose future remains unclear as a takeover bid from Fairfax Financial looms. The company announced Tuesday it would cut 300 more employees from its Waterloo headquarters.
Not all smartphone users are excited about the app.
On social media some are making fun of the fact that BBM is an older chat service that had been replaced by apps like WhatsApp – an app that many former BlackBerry users began using in place of BBM – and other services like Apple’s iMessage.
WhatsApp remains a popular choice for smartphone users – the company announced last week that it had over 350 million monthly active users, up 50 million in just two months.
Comments