It is the most downloaded application of the moment. For several days, Ten Ten has been fascinating, starting with teenagers. On the Google Play Store, the application has been downloaded more than a million times. Its principle? “Ten Ten turns your phone into a walkie-talkie,” boasts the social network.
Ten Ten allows you to send live voice messages to your friends at any time of the day. Even when the app is closed or the phone is locked, the sent voice message is played on the recipient’s speaker. To escape it, you must then put yourself in “Do not disturb” or “Airplane” mode or turn off your phone. It is also possible to make certain of your friends “mute” for a given time.
“Ten Ten uses features and permissions that are not usually requested by messaging applications, such as the ability to use the microphone and speaker even when the application is in the background,” analyzes Renaud Feil, expert in cybersecurity, with “Parisien”.
An unclear economic model
On the social network TikTok, there are numerous humorous videos and hoaxes around Ten Ten. The instant and intrusive side of the application is attractive. “You’re in class, but you forget that you have Ten Ten,” Internet users joke, filming themselves surprised, angry or uncomfortable.
@the_stone93 This cursed app #humor#foryou♬ HELLO NATHAN – MTL
@spee233 Who has this app??
♬ HELLO NATHAN – MTL
However, the application poses several questions. If its founders indicate that they do not sell its users’ data – “we will never do it” – the economic model of the Parisian start-up is not clear. “We have a lot of interesting ideas on how we could monetize our services in the future,” Jule Comar, co-founder, responds to “Techcrunch”.
“We are still working to clarify the contours of the use of data, but we do not collect data like in China because we do not want or need it,” adds the co-founder to “Parisien”. On Instagram, the application repeats that “no one can listen to your conversations, not even us. They are 100% ephemeral.”
Ten Ten is also called into question in relation to the cyberharassment that the application could encourage. “Ten Ten is dedicated to close friends but we see people sharing their PIN [l’identifiant interne dans l’application, N.D.L.R.] on social networks so we are working on a better friend management system”, recognizes Jule Comar, to “Techcrunch”.
