As communication trends continue to evolve with technology, it seems like smartphones have replaced in-person conversations. Need a quick answer? Send a text. Should I wear this outfit? Send a pic. Want to remember this moment? Capture a video.
Look around at a restaurant and you will see many people on their phones, probably uploading their food on Instagram, instead of talking to their family or friends. Because when we are constantly connected to social networks, we tend to miss out on real-life connections.
A new ephemeral messaging app wants to solve this problem by bringing human interaction back to social networking. The app, Mirage, pulls elements from popular apps like Snapchat and Yo into one platform that focuses on speed and simplicity.
"We wanted to bring the realness and spontaneity of real-world conversations to digital communications," Moshe Hogeg, CEO of the app's startup Mobli, says.
Moshe, also the co-founder of the successful messaging app Yo, and his team at the Israeli startup launched an update for the one tap messaging app this October.
Mirage users can send photos, videos, texts and voice messages that all disappear. "Nothing is stored, nothing is saved and we are left with the foundation of real communication," Hogeg says.
The ephemeral messaging app follows in the footsteps of the app Yo, providing one tap communication to send photos and videos that self-destruct.
To send a message, users tap on the icon of who they wish to send a photo to and the message is sent. Hold the icon for 15 seconds, and users can send a video. Effects and text can also be added by swiping and double-tapping the screen. And just like that, the message is immediately sent.
And with its new update, users can now create group chats for disappearing conversations. "Now users can create a group and start a disappearing conversation with a number of their contacts in one group," Hogeg says.
"We also added a new broadcast feature which enables users to share a MIRAGE message with several contacts at once, without having to organize a shared group," he adds. "As a result of this new feature, MIRAGE now captures in an even more precise way the essence of human interaction."
Leaving no cyberspace footprints behind, the Mirage app is another option for social sharing for Millennials who are looking for the next trend.
"Millennials are constantly connected to their phones which they are using in every aspect of their day-to-day life to communicate with each other. Mirage and other ephemeral apps are adapting to the changes in communication and the way we interact," Hogeg says. "They have soared in popularity because they channel the very elements that make real world conversations so important."
So what makes this app stand out in a list of other ephemeral messaging apps? Capturing the esssence of face-to-face communication, Mirage wants to be more than a messaging app, it aims to be a communication tool.
Unlike other messaging apps, Mirage does not force people to download the app in order to see a message sent from a user. When someone who does not have the app receives a "MIRAGE,",the message will appears as a text with a link that will redirect to a website that shows the message. The message will disappear and then the viewer will have the option to download the app.
One tap messaging allows users to send a contact or a group of contacts messages quickly, as if they were standing right in front of them. Double-tap for text, and swipe to change filters,making it much easier to customize messages. Keep swiping and users can send voice messages, a feature other ephemeral messaging apps like Snapchat can't do.
While Snapchat is just a video and photo sharing app, Mirage allows users to also send text messages inside the app platform by using the simple one tap feature. Snapchat has a maximum video length of 10 seconds, but all Mirage messages (photo, text, video, audio) can last up to 15 seconds.
Unlike other similar apps, Mirage users can drag and drop their contacts to rearrange them on their home screen and locate messages using a search bar.
Besides its group features, the app also allows users to send the same MIRAGE to a few contacts at a time. Users also have an inbox where they can tap and hold their messages in any order they wish to view them.
"We looked at all of the different messaging apps around and none of them really imitated real-life communication," Hogeg says. "So we developed an app that does exactly that. There are other ephemeral messaging apps, but they are based on the premise of being photo and video sharing tools, not communication tools."
Its startup Mobli has the support from big name investors like billionaire Carlos Slim, Tobey Maguire and Leonardo Dicaprio.
"Leonardo DiCaprio liked the vision of Mobli from the start and was excited by Mobli's mission to connect people around the world through shared visual images," Hogeg says. "Carlos Slim saw a great opportunity to develop an alliance that would allow América Móvil to add value throughout the Americas."
And while communication has always been a part of technology, apps like Mirage continue to center their core functionality on making communication easier, faster and as authentic as possible.
Mirage 2.0 is available to download for iOS and Android smartphones.
