Samsung Says ChatON Messaging Service Isn't Being Discontinued

The South Korean company has called such reports as "false" and has said that it will continue to offer the ChatON service worldwide, according to The Verge. The company however declined to comment on the future of ChatON.

"The company declines to specify for how long or whether development of the software will continue," writes The Verge.

The reports of the company planning to close its ChatON service was first reported by Korea Times, which citing several Samsung officials had claimed that the company plans to exit the instant messaging service from "region-to-region as part of corporate strategy to restructure unprofitable businesses and improve profitability." One of officials was quoted to say, "ChatOn isn't a business that can show improvement in the future."

In 2013 Samsung had announced a global subscriber base of over 100 million users for its ChatON service.

When we compare these figures to the likes of WhatsApp however, a stark difference is visible - the cross-platform messaging app claimed it had crossed 600 million monthly active users in August. Samsung's ChatON service has clearly a long way to go before it can come anywhere close to that number across the globe.

A more realistic goal for the instant messaging app is to become the most popular messenger on Samsung devices, since it comes preloaded on Galaxy range of devices.

Samsung this year closed a number of its content hubs, hinting at the fact that it is facing challenges maintaining such services. The company closed its Video and Media Hub alongside its Music Hub earlier this year.

The South Korean giant however has also been launching some new services for users of its Galaxy smartphones, such as Milk Music and the more recently launched Milk Video service.