Viber launches 'Public Chats', which lets you read celebrity conversations

It seems to be app revamp time in the mobile world, and the latest to join the list is Viber. Viber, the popular messenger app which had been bought over by **Japanese company Rakuten for $900 million** earlier this year, has launched a ‘Public Chats’ feature which allows users to browse through celebrity conversations. With this new feature, users can go behind the scenes with music, film, fashion, sports or whatever else you like.

We're excited to announce #ViberPublicChats a new social entertainment platform that lets you listen in on celebrity conversations

— Rakuten Viber (@Viber) November 18, 2014

TechCrunch reported that “P_ublic Chats will see the introduction of live conversation streams from celebrities. The company is basically looking for people with interesting chats which could also include bloggers or other popular personalities. This way, users can take a peek at what celebrities are sharing with each other - be it pictures, videos or even virtual stickers. CEO Talmon Marco said that Public Chats will be open for any follower to see, but not necessarily participate in. Users will only be able to jump in and talk in Public Chats if the account in question is in their contacts.”_ The initial users of the new service include blogger Perez Hilton, the D.J. Paul van Dyk, European football channel COPA90 and the Next Model Management modeling agency. It will be available to other users over time. This way, Viber will be hoping to set itself apart from other popular messenger apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, and Line. Wired reported that, “WhatsApp is by far the most successful, with some 600 million monthly active users worldwide. Viber, by contrast, has 210 million, which is why Marco, who sold the company to Japanese internet company Rakuten is constantly on the lookout for features that will encourage more users to switch platforms. Original content, he believes, could do just that.” Macro also shared the news that the feature has only been optimized for Android devices first but will work on other native Viber apps, versions 5.0 or higher. Viber has also launched a separate Public Chats website to promote the new feature. For more information on Viber Public Chats, check out the video below.