WhatsApp Video-Calling Rival, Google Duo, Hits 1 Bn Downloads

Google’a video-calling app is available to users on mobile, desktop and chromebooks as well.

Google Duo is a video-calling app. 

(Photo: Google)

Google's video chat app Duo has now been downloaded more than 1 billion times on Google Play store. The company launched Duo in 2016 along with instant messaging app Allo with much fanfare.

"Duo hit 500 million downloads just six months ago, so another 500 million in that time span is pretty impressive," tech website Android Police reported late on Saturday.

In 2018 itself, the company has launched Duo support for iPad, Android tablet, Chromebook, and smart displays. This is likely to have helped Google Duo amass another 500,000,000 downloads in six months.

Google Duo was supposed to be the closest challenger to WhatsApp video calling, but it’s possible that most users have found it easier and convenient to do everything from one app itself.

It works on WiFi as well as 3G/4G and the only thing you need to start using it is a friend’s phone number.

Earlier, the company has also said that its messaging app Allo will not work after March 2019 as the company focuses on improving its Android messaging and video-calling app Duo.

Google’s had a sketchy past with most of its social media platforms and Duo it seems has been the exception in this list. Add to the fact you have Google Plus shutting down earlier than expected, post the revelations of a data breach, Google will breathe a sigh of relief that 2018 is about to end.

Google paused investment in Allo earlier this year and brought some of its most-loved features – like Smart Reply, GIFs and desktop support – into Messages, which has over 175 million users.

Allo – Google's messaging rival to WhatsApp and Apple iMessage – is an instant messaging mobile app for the Android and iOS mobile Operating Systems (OS), with a web client available on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera browsers.