React Messenger for iOS ditches smilies in favor of real human expressions

"Death to emoji!" -proclaimed React Messenger's co-founder, Pedro Alejandro Wunderlich.Sharing a similar attitude towards the all too-colorful, hyper-jollysmilies and "stickers" that flood our chat sessions (sorry,we were raised on IRC and ASCII, not on WhatsApp), we had to checkout what React is about. And, what do you know, we just found oneawesome iOS messenger with a bright idea behind it.

See, instead of touting hundreds ofcomically hyperbolic, cutesy smilies, React Messenger snaps a quickphoto of your actual, human expression through your device's frontcamera, and glues it to your message. This way, the app bridges thegap between instant and video messaging in a way that workssurprisingly natural. "It’s natural messaging." -says React Limited, author of the app. "We think stickerpacks and emoticons are unnatural. React takes that out of the way,and allows people to convey their genuine personality without theneed to rely on drawings to express themselves." Well,that's not to say that emoji, especially the truly funny and creativeones, don't have their place in messaging. But they aren't exactlyreliable for relaying the conversation's non-verbal layer. Eyes,however, never lie.

In addition, React complements itsnatural messaging mantra with some interesting features - Reactions,which lets you reply only using an expression (perfect for glaring),and Double-Take, which lets you send a photo from both your device'sfront and back camera. Also, the messenger includes an address book,a search engine, friend requesting, friend accepting, friend denying,and pretty much all that's social.

At a glance, the only downsides toReact Messenger are that it's iOS-only, and that its reliance on analways-on front camera taxes your device's battery. Still, the app,which launched last December, is free, and already has over 150 000users. If it sparked your interest, it's available from the linkbelow.

Download React Messenger: iOS