Yahoo's latest messaging app, called Livetext, lets users see the person they are texting through its silent video feature.
As a messaging chat service, it combines the traditional elements of texting and video calls.
The Sunnyvale-based tech giant officially unveiled the app on Wednesday and said it's designed specifically for mobile devices, Seattle Times reported.
Like other SMS applications, Livetext works by letting users send each other text-based messages. However, the app also has another feature that can allow users to see the face of people they are texting with.
According to Yahoo, including the video mode in the app enhances the whole texting experience because it lets users convey their emotions through facial expressions and other actions.
Now, with the help of the app, users can show their smiles, laughs and other expressions through text messages without relying on generic emojis.
However, the recipient of the messages will not be able to hear anything from the sender since the app does not have audio capabilities. Yahoo explained that the absence of sound means people can use the app in various situations such as when inside a crowded train, while attending a meeting or hanging out in a library.
"We don't want to create that inhibition where somebody has to think, 'Can I respond to this, can I answer this, can I engage,'" Adam Cahan, Yahoo's senior vice president for Mobile and Emerging Products told USA Today.
"What we found is that if audio is there you actually have that time where like, 'Huh, I'm sitting in this meeting, I'm sitting in the environment, I cannot do it,'" he added. "We think that's a really critical aspect of the consumer experience."
Before unveiling the app, Yahoo tested it first on a group of students from the University of California, Santa Barbara and Ohio State University. After receiving positive reviews from the test participants, the company finally decided to launch the app.
Yahoo's Livetext is now available for iOS and Android mobile device users in the U.S., U.K, France, Germany, Ireland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, according to CNN. It can be downloaded from Apple's App Store and Google Play.
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