
Below are some examples of how messaging apps have been used by such organisations.Īs a hotline. This includes both individuals and aid organisations. Over the past four years, messaging apps have become the primary mode of communication for millions of people around the world. A piece of code that performs automated functions within an app (often in natural language like a human − hence “chatbot”), such as replying to users’ questions with short pieces of information. It cannot be decrypted and read by the company itself.īots or “chatbots”. End-to-end encryption means that the content of a message can be viewed only by the people sending and receiving messages. The capacity to send messages or other content to a large number of people.Įncryption. Messaging apps were primarily designed for private communication between individuals or small groups, but are increasingly being used in new ways, including:īroadcast or bulk messaging. In addition to voice calls, video calls and text, messaging-app users can send and receive files, images, audio, location data, emojis and (in some cases) documents. Messaging apps can transmit or receive a much wider range of data types than Short Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). DefinitionĪ messaging application is a mobile-phone-based software programme that allows users to send and receive information using their phone’s internet connection. It was last updated in January 2017.ĭownload the full-length report (3.3MB PDF).

It is the product of a partnership between the International Committee of the Red Cross, The Engine Room and Block Party. This report investigates how organisations are using messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Viber and Telegram in humanitarian situations, and assesses the opportunities and risks that they introduce.
