You may have heard the rumours surrounding Samsung’s ChatOn instant messaging service, in that it would be slowly disbanded on a region-by-region basis during the beginning of next year.
When questioned about the future of the IM service, Samsung initially denied reports that the ChatOn service would be coming to an end or scaled back, however the Korean company have now confirmed that it will indeed shut up shop by the 1st February 2015 in all regions, with the exception of the US.
For anyone who was not familiar with the service, it was first introduced and pre-installed on all Samsung Galaxy smartphones from 2011; it currently serves more than 120 countries in 62 languages. While it comes pre-installed on Samsung Galaxy handsets, it’s not exclusive to them and in fact it is available to download on pretty much every other mobile OS out there. While ChatOn was very similar to a lot of other IM services out there, it does have some unique features; including the ability for users to draw animations which can then be sent on to the recipient to watch. In addition it also offered users the ability to access the service via traditional web browser to send messages, something I’m sure a lot of WhatsApp users would also like to be able to do.
If you happen to be a frequent user of the ChatOn service and do not live in the US, Samsung have assured users that they will have an opportunity to backup all their data before the service comes to an end. Samsung has blamed “changing market conditions” as the reason for scaling back the service, despite having a user base of around 100 million.
In a statement to Engadget, Samsung said:
On February 1, 2015, ChatON will be discontinued in all markets except the United States, as we strive to meet evolving consumer needs by focusing on our core services. We remain committed to offering services that cater to our consumers’ lifestyles and add value to their everyday lives.