NateOn to Eliminate Mobile Ads: Will Messenger Competition With KakaoTalk Heat Up?

Sequential Updates Begin at the End of This Month
"Focusing on the Core of Messaging"
Enhanced Immersion and User Convenience

Amid recent backlash against the KakaoTalk overhaul, NateOn has announced that it will completely discontinue advertisements on its mobile version and begin updates reflecting user feedback. As competition between the two services intensifies, attention is focused on whether this will bring changes to the mobile and PC messenger market.

On October 20, Nate Communications stated that its messenger service, NateOn, will embark on a major functional update and a reorganization of its service operations, heavily incorporating user feedback.

First, NateOn has decided to completely discontinue advertisements on its mobile version, signaling its intention to focus on the core function of messaging. This move is in stark contrast to KakaoTalk, which is actively pursuing a strategy to expand advertising revenue.

Additionally, the platform will be improved so that when a message is deleted in a chatroom, no trace such as "This message has been deleted" will remain. The "force removal" feature, which allows a group chat administrator to remove specific users, and the "hide online status" option, which conceals device connection status, will be added to both mobile and Mac PC versions.

Two-factor authentication will also be introduced to strengthen account security. To create a safe environment for users, Nate Communications plans to make trust its top priority by enhancing cooperation with leading domestic security specialists.

Furthermore, user convenience will be improved by adding features such as "select all" in the mobile file manager (Android OS) and a "private setting" for the news section at the bottom of the PC version.

In addition to the existing "My Emoticons" feature, development is underway to introduce a wider variety of emoticons that reflect the latest trends.

A Nate Communications representative stated, "This overhaul actively reflects the voices of users received through social media, amid a recent trend of users returning to NateOn." NateOn has set short- and mid-term goals and plans to sequentially unveil the results through updates starting at the end of this month.