Yo (app)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Yo was a social
mobile application A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on de ...
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 ...
, Android, and formerly also
Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...
. Initially, the application's only function was to send the user's friends the word " yo" as a text and audio notification, but it has since been updated to enable users to attach links and location to their "Yo"s.


History

''Yo'' was created by Israeli developer Or Arbel in eight hours at the request of Moshe Hogeg, CEO of
Mobli Mobli was a social media, social mobile device, mobile Photo sharing, photo and video-sharing website founded by Israeli Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs and brothers Moshe Hogeg, Moshe and Oded Hogeg. As of 2016 the service was shut down and the ...
, who asked Arbel to design a single-button app to send a notification to his assistant or wife. It was launched on
April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
2014 for Android and
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 ...
, though initially rejected by
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
for being too simple. The app was only shared with Mobli employees to start, however 20,000 people were using the app within the first month of release. The app was shared on the
Product Hunt Product Hunt is an American website to share and discover new products. It was founded by Ryan Hoover in November 2013. Users submit products, which are listed in a linear format by day. The site includes a comments system and a voting system si ...
website, through which it exploded in popularity. Following a wide range of interest from investors, the app received USD$1 million in investment, including from Hogeg himself. In July 2014 the app was also released for
Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...
. The app was valued at between $5 and $10 million in the same month and received a further $1.5 million in funding. Arbel stated interest in expanding the app to include more functionality, including a possible feature which could be used by
bloggers A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
to send their followers a 'yo' with a link to the blog attached whenever they post an update; the feature has since been implemented. The app's first content update was released in August 2014, adding extra functionality to it, including the ability to send web links and
hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...
s, and creating user profiles. On 20 June 2014, Isaiah Turner hacked the app, allowing him to retrieve any user's phone number and spam/spoof 'Yo's to any user. After the exploit was fixed, Arbel hired him to work for the company. In October the same year, the app introduced functionality to enable users to send their location to other users. In June 2015, Yo released the second version of their app with a number of new features. The user interface was updated to allow users to send photos or their location within 1 swipe and a tap from the home screen. The new version also enabled users to collect their friends into groups so that they could "Yo" a number of people with 1 tap. In 2016 the ''Yo'' company shut down. Arbel and other employees had since moved on to other jobs, and Arbel described the app as running on "autopilot". Arbel opened a
Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a co ...
account to continue funding maintenance of the app in 2018.


Features

The app enables users to send individual notifications to other users, simply containing the word " Yo". Users can additionally send their location. ''Yo'' is an option for the
IFTTT IFTTT (, an acronym of If This Then That) is a private commercial company that runs online digital automation platforms which it offers as a service. Their platforms provide a visual interface for making cross-platform if statements to its us ...
service. The app has an API, which has enabled developers and brands to send a ''Yo'' to groups of users, such as when the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
sent a ''Yo'' every time a goal was scored.
FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...
set up a service using the app through which users could receive a ''Yo'' when their package was being delivered.


Reception

Since its release, ''Yo'' has been downloaded over 3 million times and by 2016 over 100 million 'Yo's had been sent. Joachim Fels, an economist at
Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
, expressed interest in the app due to its simplicity. At the height of its popularity the app reached the number 4 position on the
iOS App Store The App Store is an app store platform, developed and maintained by Apple Inc., for mobile apps on its iOS and iPadOS operating systems. The store allows users to browse and download approved apps developed within Apple's iOS Software Deve ...
and #1 in the social networking category.


Similar apps

A number of apps inspired by ''Yo'' have been released, including one which sends the word '
Hodor George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others beyon ...
', and one which sends the Indian word 'aiyo'. The app has also been adapted to warn
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i citizens of missile strikes. An app called ''Lo'' was partly inspired by ''Yo'', sending only a user's location. In July 2014 some of the copies and parodies received copyright complaints from ''Yo'', with Arbel saying "Yo has spawned many clones... some of them are a complete replication of the Yo app... Improving upon our concept is welcomed, copying us bit-by-bit isn't.". In August 2014, Tom Scott and Matt Gray created
Emojli Emojli was a social application for iOS and Android, created by YouTuber and web developer Tom Scott, and YouTuber and broadcast engineer Matt Gray. Usernames could contain only emoji and users could only communicate using emoji within the ap ...
, an emoji only messenger app, partly inspired by the success of ''Yo''.


References


External links

* {{Nonverbal communication Android (operating system) software IOS software Windows Phone software Israeli social networking websites 2014 software