Amazon is looking to throw its hat into the crowded messaging ring, as the e-commerce titan is developing its own messaging app dubbed Anytime.
The service will bring users “everything you’ve always wanted in a messaging app” — according to company language picked up by AFTVNews, an Amazon focused site — including encrypted messaging, group chats, and voice and video calls. Anytime will work on iPhone and Android, and since it’s coming from the home of digital shopping, it’ll offer users the ability to interact with businesses to make reservations and buy items straight from the app.
Amazon did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
Users will only need to use their contact’s names to start conversations on Anytime — no phone numbers needed. It’s unclear if Amazon will brand the app with its name — it’s kept Twitch, its video platform, free of a direct Amazon connection.
Anytime is Amazon’s first wide scale push into a space littered with high-profile names — from Facebook’s WhatsApp and Messenger to Snapchat. It’ll even offer a few Snapchat-esque features, including filters and the ability to add stickers and emojis to messages.
Amazon launched “Chime” in March, its enterprise-focused communication service, and recently added calling and messaging to Alexa, the voice service behind its Echo home speaker system.
The competition for users will be stiff, with Facebook’s two messaging apps totaling more than two billion monthly users. There is no timetable for Anytime’s release.