ByteDance Shuts Down Free African Messaging App That Failed to Challenge WhatsApp
LetsChat came late to Africa’s instant messaging party and failed to differentiate itself from its much larger competitors.
Chinese tech firm ByteDance shut down its three-year-old multimedia messaging app LetsChat earlier this month, a rare defeat for the social media giant that hoped the platform would take off among Africa’s ballooning youth population.
In contrast to TikTok, ByteDance’s short video and entertainment app, which is very popular in Africa, most people might not even know that LetsChat even existed: The app also never came close to competing with WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger for Africa’s instant messaging market.
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