Tango Live

Tango is a third-party,[2] cross platform messaging application software for smartphones

developed by TangoME, Inc. in 2009. The app is free and began as one of the first providers of
video calls, texting, photo sharing, and games on a 3G network.[3][4][5]

As of 2018, Tango has more than 400 million Tango Live

[6][7][8][4]
registered users. It was rated by
PCMag as "the simplest mobile chat
application out there, with a good range of
support."[5]

In 2017, Tango entered the live-streaming Developer(s) JP Inc.

space, and has become a B2C platform for
Operating system Android, iOS
Live Video Broadcasts, combining high-quality
video streaming, a live messaging chat and a Type Voice over IP, instant
digital economy. messaging,
videoconferencing
History License Proprietary[1]

Tango, based in Mountain View, California, Website tango.me (http://tang

was founded in September 2009 by Uri Raz o.me)

and Eric Setton.[5][9] Raz currently serves as its

CEO.

The founders raised venture capital from a range of investors such as Draper Fisher Jurvetson
and Len Blavatnik.[10]

In July 2013, the Syrian Electronic Army hacked the Tango chat app and stole 1.5 terabytes of
user data.[11]

A financing round in March 2014 brought in $280 million from Alibaba, Yahoo co-founder Jerry
Yang and other investors.[12]

In February 2017, Tango added integration with GIF platform Gfycat, allowing users to search and
send GIFs.[13]

In December 2024, Tango faced serious concerns following reports that it was being used for
inappropriate activities, including child pornography and abuse. A New York Times article
highlighted the issue, revealing how the app has been exploited by some users for harmful
purposes. This has raised alarms about the platform’s safety and the need for stronger
safeguards to protect vulnerable individuals, especially children. [14]

References

1. "Privacy Policy - Tango FREE voice, video, & text over 3G, 4G, and WiFi!" (http://www.tango.m
e/privacy-policy/) . December 19, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2014.

2. Nguyen, Chuong (March 20, 2013). "American law enforcement wants carriers to save your
incriminating text messages" (http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/03/20/american-law-e
nforcement-wants-carriers-to-save-your-incriminating-text-) . Gotta Be Mobile. Archived (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/20231007082348/https://www.gottabemobile.com/american-la
w-enforcement-wants-carriers-to-save-your-incriminating-text-messages/) from the
original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2013.

3. Fitchard, Kevin (March 19, 2013). "TextMe tries to recreate Skype as a mobile-first app" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20220814061438/https://old.gigaom.com/2013/03/19/textme-tri
es-to-recreate-skype-as-a-mobile-first-app/) . Gigaom. Archived from the original (http://gig
aom.com/2013/03/19/textme-tries-to-recreate-skype-as-a-mobile-first-app/) on August
14, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2013.

4. Dredge, Stuart (March 8, 2013). "30 best iPhone and iPad apps this week" (https://www.theg
uardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/mar/08/best-iphone-ipad-apps-real-racing-3-marv
el-unlimited) . The Guardian. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20231007020240/http
s://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/mar/08/best-iphone-ipad-apps-real-r
acing-3-marvel-unlimited) from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2013.

5. Moscaritolo, Angela (March 7, 2013). "Video chat app tango hits 100m users, adds iPad
support" (https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2416345,00.asp) . PCMag. Archived (ht
tps://web.archive.org/web/20231007103235/https://www.pcmag.com/news/video-chat-ap
p-tango-hits-100m-users-adds-ipad-support) from the original on October 7, 2023.
Retrieved May 14, 2013.

6. Smith, Craig (1 July 2020). "12 Tango Facts and Statistics (2020)By the Numbers" (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20130524045035/http://www.thefullsignal.com/products/13846/tango
-app-hits-100-million-users-launches-ipad-app) . Archived from the original (https://expand
edramblings.com/index.php/tango-facts-statistics/) on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 14 May
2013.
 7. Loeb, Steven (March 14, 2013). "Asian messaging platform Line sees 100M game
downloads" (http://vator.tv/news/2013-03-14-asian-messaging-platform-line-sees-100m-ga
me-downloads#VBqi9LDC5hsDSi8t.99) . VatorNews. Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20231007020248/https://vator.tv/news/2013-03-14-asian-messaging-platform-line-sees-
100m-game-downloads#VBqi9LDC5hsDSi8t.99) from the original on October 7, 2023.
Retrieved May 14, 2013.

8. Bea, Francis (March 19, 2013). "MessageMe picks up 1 million users in 12 days, no thanks
to Facebook" (http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/message-me-1-million-users/) . Digital
Trends. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20231007020859/https://www.digitaltrends.
com/mobile/message-me-1-million-users/) from the original on October 7, 2023.
Retrieved May 14, 2013.

9. Perez, Sarah (September 10, 2012). "Mobile video chat app tango is starting to look like a
social network: adds photo sharing, in-app gaming" (https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/10/m
obile-video-chat-app-tango-is-starting-to-look-like-a-social-network-adds-photo-sharing-in-ap
p-gaming/) . TechCrunch. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210918005447/http
s://techcrunch.com/2012/09/10/mobile-video-chat-app-tango-is-starting-to-look-like-a-soci
al-network-adds-photo-sharing-in-app-gaming/) from the original on September 18, 2021.
Retrieved May 14, 2013.

10. Ludwig, Sean (November 20, 2012). "Video-calling app Tango adds Instagram-like filters &
cute animal avatars" (https://venturebeat.com/2012/11/20/tango-video-filters-avatars/) .
VentureBeat. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20220323090750/https://venturebeat.
com/2012/11/20/tango-video-filters-avatars/) from the original on March 23, 2022.
Retrieved May 14, 2013.

11. Rubenking, Neil J. (July 23, 2013). "Syrian Electronic Army Hacked Tango Chat App; Is Your
Site Next?" (https://securitywatch.pcmag.com/hacking/313992-syrian-electronic-army-hack
ed-tango-chat-app-is-your-site-next) . Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20220324161
104/https://uk.pcmag.com/opinion/14025/syrian-electronic-army-hacked-tango-chat-app-is
-your-site-next) from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2019. "the Syrian
Electronic Army (SEA) hacked the cross-platform Tango chat application and stole 1.5
terabytes of data. This data included private phone numbers, email addresses, and contact
information for some or all of the app's 120 million users."

12. Shih, Gerry (March 20, 2014). "Alibaba invests $280 million in messaging app Tango" (http
s://www.reuters.com/article/us-tango-alibaba-group-investment-idINBREA2J05B2014032
0) . Reuters. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20231029004231/https://www.reuter
s.com/article/us-tango-alibaba-group-investment-idINBREA2J05B20140320) from the
original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
13. Tracy, Phillip (February 14, 2017). "Tango now lets you post GIFs from the largest user-
generated database in the world" (http://www.dailydot.com/debug/tango-gif-keyboard-gyfc
at/) . The Daily Dot. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20230829133721/https://www.
dailydot.com/debug/tango-gif-keyboard-gyfcat/) from the original on August 29, 2023.
Retrieved February 25, 2017.

14. Michael, Keller (December 7, 2024). "On These Apps, the Dark Promise of Mothers Sexually
Abusing Children" (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/us/child-abuse-apple-google-app
s.html) . The New York Times. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20250215165519/ht
tps://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/us/child-abuse-apple-google-apps.html) from the
original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved February 19, 2025.

External links

Official website (http://tango.me)