Path Launches Standalone 'Talk' Messenger App, Removes Friend Limit

The new app from Path is now available for free, and can be downloaded via Google Play and the App Store. Notably, the Path Talk app was the social network's earlier messaging feature (within the main app); however, the company has now chosen to launch it as a standalone app.

Path on Friday also announced that it acquired TalkTo, a place messaging company that offers users' details about places and businesses around them via text chats. The company confirmed the news via its blog post and said, "Today we're excited to announce that TalkTo is joining the Path Team."

In addition, Path revealed that later this summer, the TalkTo service will be completely integrated as place messaging within the Path Talk app.

The new Path Talk app comes with a slew of new features which include - Ambient Status, which can automatically tell friends when a user is in transit, in the neighbourhood, or is low on battery; the ability to send movies, music, books, maps, locations, and high quality images and videos via the app; Quick Replies, with which can now save time by acknowledging a message directly from the message list with a swipe.

Path Talk app also comes with handmade stickers. The company said, "We've hired some of the best artists in the industry to imagine and draw characters for you to use when emoji just isn't enough."

One of the prominent features of the Path Talk app is voice messaging, allowing users to send and receive voice messages.

The app listing on the store also informs that the sent messages in Path Talk are erased automatically from servers 24 hours after users' send them. The company has also announced that it has lifted the friend limit of 150 in the new Path Talk app. This means that users can now have unlimited friends in the list.

The blog post said, "With this update we're lifting the 150 friend limit to give you the freedom to decide who and how many are in your network. Path has been redesigned to make sharing and navigating even simpler. We've taken the navigation out of drawers and placed it front-and-centre on the bottom of your Path timeline. And even though Talk is now a separate app, it's only a tap away."

The original Path app was announced early last year.