Vine has just added the ability to send direct video and text messages from within its app.
The popular video-sharing app previously only let its users communicate through responses to uploaded videos. According to a recent Vine blog post, however, the company swiftly realised that its users wanted the ability to communicate privately through the service.
Now the Vine app can be used as a full-on instant messaging service in what the Twitter-owned company is calling "Vine’s biggest update yet."
Vine calls this new feature 'Vine messages,' or VM, which is rather obvious. The feature is accessed through a new Messages section within the Vine app, or by tapping the message option in a friend’s profile.
Vine messages (whether video or text) can be sent to multiple people, but each message is a one to one interaction rather than a group affair. Meanwhile, your message inbox is split into two sections - friends and other, depending on whether you know the sender or not. It’s possible to block the latter, if you wish.
The clever part here is that you can send VMs to friends who haven’t signed up to the Vine service. These messages will simply be sent out as SMS or email files.
One other minor addition found in this latest version of the Vine app is the ability to personalise your Vine profile with a choice of colours.
Version 2.0 of the Vine app is available now on the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store.
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