How To Download and Use IMO on your PC
Ever heard of IMO? Well I hadn’t until a week ago when someone asked me if I used it. IMO is a WhatsApp competitor that offers chat, voice and video calling from mobile and PC. It looks and feels just like other apps and is another young hopeful in the ring of communication apps. If you want to try it, here is how to download and use IMO on your PC.
If you’re bored of other chat apps and want to try something new, this could be the one. IMO is free, easy to use and works on almost every OS out there including Windows Phone and BlackBerry!
IMO is owned and run by Pagebytes, based in Palo Alto, California. It does not (yet) have security, encryption or anything that would pull you away from other services. Yet it is credited with having over 100 million installs so it must be doing something right.
DOWNLOAD AND USE IMO
To use IMO, you will need the corresponding app for your device.
Download the IMO PC app here.
Download the IMO Android app here.
Download the IMO iOS app here.
Or you can go to the IMO website and use one of the links there instead. Download the app installer, install onto your device and you’re ready to go. On PC, IMO is browser-based so the installation takes only a couple of seconds.
Download and install the PC version of IMO.
Enter your phone number when prompted and register.
Wait for the activation code to arrive on your phone.
Enter the code into the IMO window on your PC.
Complete the next screen that asks for your name, email address, age and a password.
IMO will load into the main chat screen.
Every time you start a new IMO session, you will need to repeat the SMS code step. The other steps are one time only.
USING IMO
From the off, IMO is very easy to use. The main chat screen is simple and effective. Any contacts you have loaded appear on the right and the chat window on the left. I found IMO easier to use on PC than on phone because of the simplicity of the UI. When using it on the phone, I found myself accidentally calling contacts through fat fingers. While entirely my fault, it is one of those situations where simplicity doesn’t necessarily work in your favor.
To start a chat, select a contact and select voice or video. The call will then initiate. When they answer, if they have video capability, you will see them. If they don’t, you will only hear them. Likewise at your end if you have a webcam. You will see yourself in the upper right corner so you can see just how you’re appearing too like other video chat apps.
To stop a call, just select the red phone icon.
IS IMO WORTH USING?
Even though downloading and using IMO is super simple, is it actually worth using? I had to ask myself that question a couple of times when testing the app. Occasionally the verification text didn’t arrive and I couldn’t log in any other way. Eventually, I gave up and went back to WhatsApp. Your mileage may vary of course.
There are a couple of downsides to IMO. Unless you know lots of people who use it, the platform doesn’t offer anything others don’t. When it was first launched, you could log in from other networks such as Skype or Facebook but you can no longer do that.
Then there is the elephant in the room, security. I can find no mention of security anywhere on the IMO website. Nothing about encryption, nothing informative about data harvesting or retention or how IMO make their money. Presumably, they do the same as other social networks. They collect usage data about you and sell it to third-parties.
One section of the IMO policy gives me cause for concern though:
‘you grant us (imo, its parent, subsidiaries, and affiliates) the non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully sublicensable (through multiple tiers), transferable right to use Your Content for any purpose (including, without limitation, the rights to use, reproduce, publicly perform or display, distribute, adapt, publish, modify, translate, incorporate into other works in any form, media, or technology, and create derivative works of Your Content, in whole or in part, throughout the world in any media). Finally, you irrevocably waive, and cause to be waived, against imo and its users any claims and assertions of moral rights or attributes with respect to Your Content.’
While it does not save identifiable information and is likely no worse than other social networks, it is definitely something to bear in mind when you use the platform. Especially as other chat alternatives offer much better security for no extra cost.
How you used or do you use IMO? Like it? Loathe it? Tell us about your experiences below!
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