How does blackberry messenger work

That number is important -- you need it to add contacts to the app. The person you send the invite to must accept it before you can start chatting. Likewise, if someone knows your e-mail, phone number, or PIN, that person can send you an invite. To see your PIN at any time, tap your profile photo at the top of the app. BlackBerry says its uses the PIN system, as opposed to letting people search by e-mail or phone number, to amp up privacy.

The idea is that anyone could feasibly find your phone number or e-mail address, but your PIN is private and you can control how it gets shared. Additionally, the company says that the two-step process to add a new contact also enhances security.

BlackBerry is billing those security and privacy features as major selling points for the app, but I found the process to add new contacts confusing and tedious. In one instance, I sent a BBM message invitation to a friend and then got a notification that he invited me to chat, which threw me off. I then had to dig through the app to find his invitation before we could start chatting.

Design The iOS app runs a bit smoother than the Android app, but the layouts are nearly identical. There are buttons along the bottom of the app that also show your chats, groups, and contacts.

Create a closed social circle by establishing contact relationships through an invitation request and accept process via email, NFC or PIN. BBMe only requires an email address for signup, unlike other apps that require a phone number and other personal information. These keys are generated on the device by a FIPS validated cryptographic library and are not controlled by BlackBerry.

Each message uses a new symmetric key for message encryption. Secure end-to-end signing and encryption protects all BBMe messages from eavesdropping or manipulation. Additionally, TLS encryption protects the connections between the device and BlackBerry's infrastructure. You can see where local BBM friends are with the Wikitude augmented reality app. Or you can just play a game of Battleships with BBM friends. BBM is popular; there are 50 million BBM users up from 28 million people this time last year, with around 2 million new users signing up a month.

It was information about the messages called traffic data — the pattern of messages passing between certain users. This is a useful feature as you can call users across borders and not incur network fees. To call someone you click the call button at the top right of any chat,. Location sending: To send your location, press the paperclip on the right hand side of any chat. You can send your location continuously for a set amount of time so that other users can see where you are.

Timed messages: These timed messages are similar to Snapchat messages in that you can set how long someone can view the message for. Messages can be timed to last for 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 25 seconds and after that they cannot be viewed using the app. However the message can be saved by taking a screenshot. News feeds: The news feed is a scrolling list that allows users to quickly and easily see what their friends have been getting up.

BBM users must be above the age of 13 to use the service. This means that BBM can use the content you send in any way they please. BBM also builds a profile on you, as Google does, to provide you with tailored advertising based on your location, interests and even your mobile phone network.