You sign up with your phone number and you can connect your Google account to it, though there’s no need to. You can see the usual chat app stuff: there are sent and received indicators, emoji, and a big set of custom stickers. Amit Fulay, group product manager on Google’s communications products team, says that Google commissioned stickers from artists with an eye toward ensuring there was a wide diversity of options — stuff that would work in India, as well as in America.
When you send a photo, it shows up full-bleed in the screen and you can even doodle on it if you want. Another neat trick: before you hit send, you can drag your finger up or down on the button to enlarge or shrink the text. Google calls it “WhisperShout.”
Tin-foil hat wearers rejoice. Google will analyse every message & image you send via its new IM chat app to better give you auto-responders. Hmmmmm…
On the upside they “promise” they’re only doing it once and then discarding the data.
They do have an “incognito” version of chat that encrypts end-to-end, presumably meaning you lose some of that whizz-bang one click reply fun.
Not sure this one will take off. Looking forward to next week’s podcast to discuss!
Source: Allo is a messaging app with Google built right in | The Verge