Wire Is a Beautiful Chat App, Backed By Skype Co-Founders - To Take on Skype

Skype co-founder Janus Friis is backing a new communication app called Wire that aims to take on Skype itself. 

The slick looking app was launched few days ago for Mac, iOS and Android devices and has been build by a team of 65 people. 

Wire is the reimagining of how Skype should operate had it been built today. 

"Skype was launched more than a decade ago. A lot has changed since then - we are all used to free calls and texting, and we have taken to carrying our computers in our pockets," said Friis in a statement. "It is time to create the best possible communication tools, as beautiful as they are useful," he says. "Wire is just that."

The app, apart from sporting a minimal user interface also equips under-the-hood improvements such as advancements in media processing, audio technology, file compression and delivery. 

Wire allows users to share text, pictures, GIFs, HD audio and other rich media. It also supports content from SoundCloud and YouTube through an embedded player. However, as of now, it doesn't support real-time video chat or asynchronous recordings. The company has promised to add the missing features including HTML5 web support in versions to come. 

Wire offers end-to-end encryption for calls, and TLS for messages and media from client to servers. However, it doesn't delete data immediately when a user deactivates account. According to company executives, it is still figuring how long those messages need to be archived on servers following account deactivation. 

The team behind Wire has got deep background in communications. Co-founder and CEO Jonathan Christensen has worked on MSN Messenger and Lync at Microsoft. Later he co-founded audio-processing software company Camino Networks, which was acquired by Skype. Co-founder and CTO Alan Duric co-founded Camino and Telio - a VoIP company similar to Camino.