Likee (; formerly LIKE) is a short-

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

creation and sharing app, available for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and Android

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

s. It is owned by

Singaporean Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, India ...

tech firm BIGO Technology, whose parent company is JOYY Inc., a Chinese firm listed on

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

. The founder of Likee is Jason Hu, entrepreneur from Singapore, who previously worked for JOYY. The app's capabilities include visual effects, including 4D Magic and Dynamic Stickers, as well as video shooting and editing.

History

Likee was originally known as LIKE until mid-2019, when it was rebranded and redesigned. As of the second quarter of 2019, Likee's mobile

monthly active users Active users is a measurement metric that is commonly used to measure the level of engagement for a particular product or object, by quantifying the number of active interactions from visitors within a relevant range of time (daily, weekly and m ...

had reached 80.7 million. In 2017, Likee was rated as one of

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...

's Best Entertainment Applications.

Features

The Likee mobile app allows users to easily create and edit videos using a variety of

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...

effects.

Privacy concerns

As with other video apps, Likee has been condemned by the international community for privacy and inappropriate content. Various law enforcement agencies have warned that the app could expose children to sexual predators. In response to privacy concerns, BIGO Technology added

parental control ''Parental Control'' is a reality television show about people looking for love produced by MTV. The two directors, Brendon Carter and Bruce Klassen, have also created other MTV shows. In Asia, this show was aired on Channel V from 2007–2009. ...

features in 2019, allowing

parent A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

s and

guardians Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Uni ...

of Likee users to remotely control or restrict access to the app's

content Content or contents may refer to: Media * Content (media), information or experience provided to audience or end-users by publishers or media producers ** Content industry, an umbrella term that encompasses companies owning and providing mas ...

. However, watchdog groups have described the parental controls as "ineffective". In June 2020, the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

banned Likee along with 58 other apps that were ultimately owned by Chinese companies such as

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

, citing data and privacy issues, and added that it was a threat to the

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

and

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...

of the country. Border tensions in 2020 between India and China and subsequent deterioration of relations instigated the ban.

References

External links

* {{Online social networking Android (operating system) software IOS software Video software Singaporean social networking websites Video hosting Internet properties established in 2017 Internet censorship in India

History

Features

Privacy concerns

See also

References

External links