Viber Gets Gif Image Support, Money Transfer, and Backup and Restore

Messaging app Viber has rolled out an update for its Android and iOS users, bringing new features. The big highlights are the addition of gif image support, and the much needed backup and restore feature.

The new update allows manual saving of text history, so users can restore all the messages in case reinstall the app for various reasons. The blog explains, "The latest update to Viber for iOS and Android lets users manually back up their text message history to their cloud service (iCloud or Google Drive) and then restore it to the same phone number, even if it is being activated on a new device, as long as it's the same operating system.

Probably the best addition is gif image support. Just like Messenger, Viber now lets users send animated gif images during conversations, instead of a mundane text reply.

Furthermore, it also integrated Western Union tech for money transfer among users across more than 200 countries. It lets users send cash to a Western Union agent in these countries, where it can then be picked up. Alternatively, users can also send directly to bank accounts, but that feature is exclusive only to 50 countries. For iOS users, there's also the additional Apple Watch OS support, for running the app on Apple's smartwatch.

Just a few days ago, Viber also released a Universal app for Windows 10 devices. The biggest competitor for Viber, needless to say, is WhatsApp. While WhatsApp already supports backup and restore, the biggest missing feature is animated gif image support. WhatsApp had a one billion user base as of February 2016, the highest among its competitors.