Opera has incorporated new features to Hype, its new chat service built into the Opera Mini web browser. Hype users in Kenya can now use features like the built-in meme creator, link previews and GIF support to make chatting with their friends more personal and fun.
Since the launch of Hype in Kenya in February 2021, Opera is reshaping the concept of mobile browsers, providing users with an engaging browsing and chatting experience. This is without compromising speed or driving increased data consumption.
Commenting on the new features, Jørgen Arnesen, Executive Vice President of Mobile Browsers Business Unit said, “When we first released Hype, we raised the bar by redefining the feature set a browser should have. With Opera Mini and a Hype account, users can enjoy a browsing and chatting ecosystem tailored to their needs. Today we are raising the bar even further by adding new engaging features such as unique built-in meme creator, GIF support and link previews to make chatting even more fun.”
With the latest Hype update, Opera is introducing the first meme creator built directly into a browser’s messenger. Users can choose memes directly in chat in Hype. Once chosen, users can edit them by changing the text and experimenting with fonts, colours and placement more easily.
Opera has also introduced GIF support to Hype chat. Making the right choice of GIF is now much simpler with Hype’s search capabilities and scrollable GIF grid.
Additionally, the newest Hype update comes with a link preview feature. Snapshot, website header and description will automatically appear in chat. This function is also available in encrypted chats and on metered networks.
Hype was initially released with a bunch of creative features that suit the needs of Kenyan users, offering a series of unique stickers that reflect their everyday expressions. The sticker collections were created by Kenyan artists Brian Omolo and Lulu Kitololo, making Opera the first major browser to integrate African pop culture into its products.
Hype also comes with WebSnap, a feature that allows users to take snapshots from the web. Once a websnap is captured, users can edit it by adding colors, text, and emojis to make it fun and entertaining before sharing it with others. WebSnap also allows users to smoothly share the link of the original website from which they took their snapshots.