The makers behind the popular multiprotocol messaging app imo, have just announced that they will be ending support for all third-party messaging networks by March 3,  2014. Users have until March 7th to retrieve their data, which imo.im has made easy to access.

Users should follow these steps:

  • Visit o.imo.im
  • Click the gear in the top right
  • Select Preferences
  • Select the Export chat history option

This news arrives in the wake of imo's massive overhaul in the hopes of competing directly with Skype and Google Hangouts by offering voice and video chatting. Instead of being one app for all your different messaging services, imo is now looking to be your only messaging service, combining the messaging prowess of WhatsApp with the video and audio calling capabilities of Google Hangouts and Facebook Messenger.

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The only difficulty with that is the same catch-22 that every messaging app finds itself stuck in: people will only use a messaging app everyone else already uses. If you can't convince your friends and family to use imo, you may want to try one of these 4 secure and private messaging networks.

What do you think about imo.im's decision here? Is it a positive step to combat the hordes of messaging apps out there, or did they shoot themselves in the foot by erasing their main feature? Let us know in the comments.

Source: imo.im Blog