Google adds a video voicemail feature to its Duo messaging app
Duo, Google’s take on Apple’s FaceTime, is getting video messages today in an update. The feature allows users to leave voicemail-style selfie videos for any user who misses or declines a call on Duo. The messages can be 30 seconds in length, and they’ll also automatically disappear after a day, although recipients can download the videos to their camera rolls for posterity. Unlike Google’s Allo, which has struggled to find a purpose in the crowded text-based messaging marketplace, Duo’s video-focused purpose has helped it find an audience on both iOS and Android. The app is the 17th most popular social networking app on Apple’s App Store, while Allo sits at No. 93, while Duo on Android has long since passed the 100 million download threshold. (Because the Play Store only uses ranges, Duo may have been downloaded on Android hundreds of millions of more times, up to 500 million.) Google says video messages will start rolling out to iOS and Android Duo users today, with the feature...
