- Communication tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams have seen downloads spike as people are encouraged to stay in their homes due to the coronavirus.
- Older video chatting app Marco Polo has also seen growth in users.
- The coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 1.9 million people around the world, with about 30% of cases in the US.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
With people forced to work and learn from home, apps like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Slack have seen spikes in downloads as they become essential parts of daily life. After work, you might want a way to talk to friends and family without launching yet another Zoom call.
Marco Polo was launched in 2016 by Vlada and Michael Bortnik under Joya Communications, and the company is entirely remote. It first billed itself as a "video walkie talkie" that let people send messages back and forth with friends.
A few years ago, some users speculated that the app could one day replace Snapchat. While that hasn't happened, Marco Polo has found a second life as people seek ways to connect while stuck at home due to COVID-19, the coronavirus disease. According to Venture Beat, Marco Polo went from 12,674 downloads on February 15 to 73,395 downloads about a month later on March 25. Even celebrities like Ice T are using it: he tweeted "I was on it way before Quarantine. But NOW it does the job."
Here's how to use Marco Polo.
Like any app, the first step is to download it in the App Store or Google Play Store.
You'll be asked to make an account with a name and profile picture.
Putting in your phone number is important because the app syncs your contacts to see which friends are already using it.
Once you connect with contacts from your phone, you can save chats with them and see if they're active.
Marco Polo also gives the option to invite contacts who aren't using the app. I sent my sister an invite to test it out.
When she accepted my invitation and joined, I got a push notification telling me she was talking to me in the app.
One thing that separates Marco Polo from other video chatting apps is the option to send messages when both people aren't online.
Send and record a message, like a Snapchat, but then they are saved at the bottom of the screen so they can be revisited like a text conversation.
Marco Polo also promotes itself as an app for families, with a built-in suggestion to create a family group. Vogue called it "the chat app getting parents through the coronavirus pandemic," and another outlet referred to it as "Snapchat for old people."
Source: Vogue, Houston Press
Marco Polo has some features like filters and the ability to draw on the screen, but they aren't as advanced or varied as current filters on Snapchat or Instagram.
The older style of filters and frequent crashes (this one happened as I was working on this story) might explain why Marco Polo has fallen behind Snapchat, but as people continue to stay inside because of coronavirus Marco Polo might be back in the game.
