Yahoo! has entered the self-destruct messaging app business dominated by Snapchat by acquiring Blink, another app that offers a similar service, for an undisclosed sum.
According to the BBC, as part of the deal, all seven members of the start-up will become official Yahoo! employees and the app itself will cease to exist once the deal is completed.
Launched more than a year ago on iOS, Blink is one of many small app start-ups that have attempted to emulate the success of Snapchat, which allows users to set the automatic deletion of messages after a period of time.
Blink launched an Android version early this year. Meh Labs, creator of the app, claimed Blink has more than 100,000 users, largely in North America and gradually building pace.
In a brief statement, the Meh Lab team said they built Blink because they believe everyone should be free to show the same honesty and spontaneity in their online conversations as they can in person.
“We look forward to the possibilities that will come from bringing the Blink vision to Yahoo!,” the statement said.
It remains to be seen whether Blink’s staff and technology will have a monumental effect on the marketplace, as the self-destructing messaging app market has seen competitors to Snapchat fall by the wayside in recent years, with the most recent example of Facebook’s Poke app ceasing to exist earlier this week.
